The Cooper Hofstadter Replacement Theorem
by xxchompchompchompxx
Summary: After catching Leonard cheating on her with Priya, Penny begins to see Sheldon in a new light. The only problem is, he is with Amy and there's no way he would ever return her affections... or could he?
1. Chapter 1

Penny slammed the door of apartment 4A shut, tears streaming from her eyes as she made her way over to her apartment. As soon as she closed her door behind her, she slid down it, burying her face into her arms as she cried. She thought Leonard loved her, he had proposed numerous times, followed her like a puppy, and he was absolutely devoted to her. She thought she was finally in a relationship where everything was fully functional and she wasn't with another jerk. However, walking in on him having full on sex with Priya, who had recently returned from India, was just too much. Yes, Leonard had his insensitive moments but she never thought he would cheat on her. They had been so happy together; well at least she had been happy, and he had spent so long trying to get back with her. How could this have happened? Leonard cheating on her!

_Knock knock knock_

'Penny?' came a soft voice, penetrating her thoughts and bringing her back to reality: sitting on her own in her dark apartment.

_Knock knock knock_

'Penny?'

'Go away Sheldon, I just want to be alone right now!' Penny cried in as normal voice as she could.

_Knock knock knock_

'Penny?'

Penny sighed, dried her eyes and opened the door.

'What do you want?' she asked with a hostile tone to her voice. Sheldon didn't say anything; he just walked towards her and gave her a hug. Shocked at his actions, Penny melted into his arms and just cried. Sheldon shut the door behind them with his foot and just held her, stroking her hair and rubbing the small of her back. 'Why are you doing this Sheldon? This isn't like you, you don't hug people,' Penny whispered through her tears.

'I had just come up the stairs when I saw you leave my apartment in tears. When I entered the apartment to see Leonard and Koothrapali's insufferable sister dishevelled, panicked, half-dressed and running around like headless chickens, I put two and two together and came straight over.' Sheldon said softly, 'Normally I would offer you a hot beverage but I think the circumstances are slightly different this time and with my highly evolved brain, I deduced this was the best form of making you feel better.'

'Well, thank you,' she burrowed into his chest and it didn't take long before Sheldon realised that Penny had fallen asleep on his chest.

'Oh Penny,' he sighed to himself. What was he to do now? He wasn't an athlete so it wouldn't work for him to lift her. He also didn't have the heart to wake her, after all she deserved a bit of sleep, just to calm down and relax. This was just typical Penny. Even when she was distraught, she still managed to make his life difficult. Maybe the hug was too much? Sighing, Sheldon shook her shoulder gently to try and wake her but she didn't stir. 'Typical Penny,' Sheldon groaned. He would have to try and be an athlete after all. Well, if he dropped her, he certainly wasn't apologising as he had already tried to wake her. Sheldon wiggled her so that she fell back into the crook of his left arm before placing his right arm under her legs and lifting so he ended up carrying her bridal style. She was surprisingly light and to his shock, he found that it was fairly easy for him to lift her over to her bed and place the covers over her. As he started to leave the room, Penny called his name.

'Did I wake you?' he asked and she shook her head.

'No… but could I ask that you don't leave me tonight Sheldon, I… I don't want to be alone,' Penny said in a quiet voice.

'Penny… you know I have a strict routine. I couldn't possibly stay here.' Sheldon stated but when he saw her face, he softened, 'I can sing soft kitty to you though?'

'I thought soft kitty was only for when you're sick,' Penny sighed.

'Heartbreak is a kind of sick,' Sheldon said, earning him a small smile from Penny.

'Well, will you stay with me until I go back to sleep?'

Sheldon sighed and agreed to the compromise. He sat down on her bed and made sure she was all tucked in before starting to sing soft kitty to her.

'Soft kitty, warm kitty little ball of -' Sheldon singing was interrupted when he felt a small hand slither into his own. He looked down and then back at her. 'You can't do that.'

'Why not?'

'Penny, I don't hold people's hands. It's unsanitary. Amy and I tried it as an experiment and it failed.'

'Just for tonight, please Sheldon. I just want some security,' Penny pleaded, giving him doe eyes. Sighing with defeat, Sheldon let her hand remain where it was.

'Just this once, now pipe down and get ready to sleep!' Sheldon cleared his throat and began to sing again:

'_Soft kitty, warm kitty, little ball of fur,_

_Happy kitty, sleepy kitty, purr purr purr_'

Sheldon looked down at Penny, whose eyes were starting to close as she started the process of drifting into the subconscious. Sheldon looked down at their intertwined hands and frowned. Somehow it was different holding Penny's hand in comparison to Amy's; with Penny it was like the cogs in a train… they fit together perfectly. Soon Penny was asleep and Sheldon quietly left her apartment.

* * *

Upon entering his own apartment, Sheldon saw Leonard hunched over in the chair, chewing his nail and bouncing his knee up and down. Upon hearing the door close, Leonard looked up and blinked at Sheldon.

'How is she?' he asked in a quiet voice. Sheldon hung his jacket up before sighing and turning to face Leonard again.

'I won't lie to you Leonard. I do believe that you may have terminated your relationship agreement with Penny by fornicating with Priya.' Sheldon said gravely before sitting down in his spot, 'You have hurt her deeply; I don't believe I have ever seen Penny cry like that before and it was distressing for me!'

'Sheldon…'

'Where is Priya now?'

'She's gone back to her hotel,' Leonard said before standing up and pacing the room.

'How long has it been going on for?' Sheldon asked quietly. Leonard sighed and got himself a beer out of the fridge.

'She was supposed to be coming next week, that's the date Raj is aware of. However, she contacted me saying she missed me last week. We met up and went on a couple of dates, which at first I took as friendly outings and well one thing led to another and this afternoon I invited her back for coffee because I knew you were working late and I know you two don't get on. For the next couple of hours, we ordered a take out, she and I discussed how we used to be, our former relationship and she said how sorry she was for sleeping with her ex and that she had missed me, which was why she came back early. Y'know, so she could see me and set things straight,' Leonard sighed, 'I was happy with Penny and I don't know why I didn't stop Priya when she kissed me. It felt so nice, so right, so comfortable that I didn't stop. I told Priya I was with Penny but she said she didn't care and she still loved me and then we moved to the bedroom. 10 minutes into me having sex with her, Penny walks in and… and… God I feel horrible!' Leonard downed his beer and sat back down opposite Sheldon, with his head in his hands. 'What do I do Sheldon?'

'As much as this may surprise you, I for once do not have the answer to this problem.'

'Then help me find a solution!'

'I wish I could Leonard but you have made your bed and I think you have to lie in it. Penny will come to you when she is ready. Don't try and push her before she's ready,' Sheldon sighed, pouring himself a glass of water.

'I feel horrible, I need to tell her I'm sorry and apologise to her.' Leonard said, feeling slightly better. Sheldon gave a snort of derision and shook his head, 'what was that for?'

'You think a simple apology will make her feel better or forgive you Leonard? You feel horrible; you're only saying you'll apologise to make yourself feel better.' Sheldon shrugged.

'I am not, I feel terrible! I love Penny!'

'If you say so, but I'm not the one you need to convince Leonard.'

**First chapter finished, let me know what you think Trying to capture Sheldon's personality as best as I can! **


	2. Chapter 2

Penny woke with a start at 1.37am. It was dark and cold in her room, not to mention it didn't help that her dream had been turbulent and full of images of Priya and Leonard kissing and making love. Grabbing her phone, she sent a text to Sheldon. When there was no response after 5 minutes, she called him. Penny threw her phone against the wall when her call went straight to voicemail; trust Sheldon to turn his mobile off whilst asleep. Putting on her dressing gown, she scrambled to find the spare key to Sheldon and Leonard's apartment and went over there as soon as she could. Her heart was racing when she stepped foot into the apartment, only 6 hours ago she had been walking towards Leonards bedroom and found him in the arms of another woman. Swallowing her tears she walked straight past Leonard's bedroom and crept into Sheldon's room.

Sure enough, Sheldon was lying there in bed. The way he slept reminded Penny of a vampire, if he could levitate she was sure he would be one. She took in the way he looked as he slept, so peaceful and still, almost as if he were actually were dead.

'Sheldon,' Penny whispered to no avail. She crept forward and poked him, 'Sheldon wake up!'

'DANGER! DANGER!' Sheldon yelled, sitting straight up.

'Sheldon, shhh it's me, Penny!' she said, hushing him so he would not wake Leonard.

'Penny?'

'Yes, it's me.'

'You're in my bedroom. You're not allowed in my bedroom,' Sheldon gasped and Penny sighed and knelt down so she was leaning against his bed.

'I know but I woke up and I feel so alone and I couldn't sleep and I had nightmares about Leonard and Priya and…' Penny began to cry again, placing her head in her arms.

'You can't be in my bedroom Penny, no one is allowed in my bedroom.' Sheldon repeated, oblivious to Penny's crying. It was only when he felt that his sheets were getting wet with Penny's tears did he notice how upset she was. 'Penny, you're going to stain my sheets'.

'I'm sorry Sheldon, I guess I'll just go then, I was silly thinking you'd understand and want to comfort me. You don't really feel do you, sometimes I don't think you have any emotions at all,' Penny said angrily through her tears as she stood up sharply.

Sheldon wasn't usually one for getting angry but for some reason those comments riled him. He turned on his side light, threw back his sheets and got out of bed, standing up to his full height. Penny hadn't seen him standing up properly fall and he was a good 5 inches taller than usual.

'Now hold on just a darn tooting minute. I understand that you are upset but you have no right to enter my personal space where no one is allowed but Amy and insult me. I'd like to think that I have been extremely lenient until now; I mean I even hugged you, lifted you and sang to you! And you have the audacity to come into my room and tell me I have no feelings and emotions!'

Penny suddenly felt less than 2 inches tall, almost like a schoolchild who had just been scolded.

'I'm sorry,' she whispered and Sheldon sighed. For some reason he couldn't stay angry at her.

'I accept your apology Penny. Now, since you've awoken me what can I do to help you?'

'I need you,' Penny whispered.

'Penny you forget that I already have a relationship agreement with Amy and am opposed to all coital regimes.' Sheldon scoffed. Penny just blinked at him as her jaw dropped.

'No, I don't want to have sex with you Sheldon!'

'Thank goodness for that!' Sheldon cried with relief and Penny raised her eyebrows before sighing and sitting down again on Sheldon's bed, wiping away the residue left on her tear stained cheeks.

'I don't know what to do Sheldon. I don't think I can forgive Leonard for doing this to me. I loved him and he went and slept with Priya behind my back!'

Sheldon pursed his lips together and sat down beside her. 'Look Penny, only you can make the decision on what to do about Leonard. Perhaps weigh out the pros and cons. He admitted to me when I returned to the apartment that he loves you.'

'I just can't believe it. If you love someone, you don't go and sleep with your ex girlfriend! And you know what the worst part is?' Penny looked at Sheldon, who sighed.

'That you haven't yet processed your feelings on the matter through the use of an alcoholic beverage?'

'Sheldon! No!' Penny cried before realising that actually he was right, she really needed to drown the pain in alcohol, 'ok fine yes. However that wasn't what I was going for. The worst part is he didn't seem to care at all! I mean he didn't even come over to grovel or apologise!'

Sheldon cleared his throat, 'well then, perhaps this will comfort you: at least you're still attractive enough to acquire a new mate.'

'Really, Sheldon? That was supposed to make me feel better?' Sheldon looked lost for words and racked his brain for something else to say but ended up being speechless for once, 'Come on Sheldon, you're supposed to say "of course he should have come and checked on you. He should have been running and begging at my feet for forgiveness. Not carried on have sex with Priya and making you look after me. And also that he didn't sleep with Priya on purpose".'

'I'm afraid I couldn't say that because that wouldn't be true at all,' Sheldon said and Penny put her hands in her head. Sheldon shuffled to face her more and gently took her hands away from her face so she could look at him properly. 'Look Penny, you are a very beautiful and strong independent young woman. Leonard clearly doesn't appreciate you and what he has, well had, with you. You deserve better than to obsess over his stupidity; you deserve a man who will look after you, will respect you and will love you, both physically and mentally.' Penny was shocked at his words, unknowingly; Sheldon was already making her feel better but then came the nerd part of his speech, 'In Star Trek Voyager…'

'Sheldon…' Penny interrupted, 'I haven't seen it and I don't get your references, you've already made me feel better, don't spoil it.'

'Spoil it? I think you'll find that I'm adding to my point. Look, in Star Trek Voyager, there was a character called Kes. In the episode "The Gift" her atomic structure begins to collapse. However, just when she is about to completely destabilise and be gone forever, she uses her powers to catapult the crew and the ship towards the alpha quadrant, throwing them past Borg space and cutting 7 years off their journey so that they can get home. What I am trying to say is that, like Kes, you are broken and completely destabilising but you need to use the attributes that make you an amazing woman to push yourself forward and past this horrid ordeal so that you can move on and live your life. If you dwell and obsess over Leonard's incompetence, you will forever be in Borg space, where you will be assimilated into the collective of women who can't leave unhealthy relationships behind them. If you stay well: Resistance is futile.'

Penny was shocked. Sheldon had made a Star Trek reference that she understood and had linked it directly to her. 'Sheldon, I never thought I'd say this but you truly are an amazing guy. Amy is lucky to have you.'

'I should think so. I am a genius after all. Now, can I go back to bed?' Sheldon yawned and Penny chuckled to herself before realising that she would be going back to an empty apartment.

'Sheldon, will you stay with me tonight? Not for sex, but for company. I need to know you are there incase I wake up with nightmares again,' Penny whispered and he sighed in defeat.

'Fine, but I hope your couch offers the right support for my neck and back. I don't wish to wake with a crick in those areas.'

'OK, well you take my bed and I'll stay on the couch?' Penny suggested and Sheldon nodded.

'Agreed.'

Both Penny and Sheldon then made their way over to apartment 4B. Upon arrival, Sheldon walked directly to Penny's bedroom, leaving Penny to stare at the couch. About 5 minutes past before Penny realised that Sheldon was sound asleep in her bed. Swallowing, she crept into her bedroom and slid under the covers next to him. Luckily, he didn't stir and she snuggled up closer to him. He smelt of antibacterial hand sanitizer mixed with… green apple? Surely he didn't use the same shampoo as her? Then again, he had requested that she revert back to using green apple as opposed to coconut. Sighing, she lay her head on his chest and couldn't help but feel that sleeping next to Sheldon made her feel extremely safe and it was a massive difference than sleeping next to Leonard. Leonard tended to roll onto his side so his back was facing her but Sheldon… he slept on his back, perfectly still and easy to cuddle into. Suddenly Sheldon twitched in his sleep and Penny froze… maybe her snuggling into Sheldon's body had awoken him? However instead of waking up, something extraordinary happened, Sheldon placed an arm around her and brought her closer to his warm body. Penny was shocked at this and felt her heart flutter slightly. Sheldon had hugged her, called her beautiful and strong and was now sleeping beside her. Albeit he didn't realise he was sleeping beside her, it still felt amazing. Though she remembered that Sheldon did indeed have Amy as his partner of three years and Amy was her "bestie". Sighing, she decided that tonight she was just going to forget all of that and let the steady breaths of Sheldon lull her to sleep.

**Chapter 2 complete, hope it was ok Will try to update as quick as possible !**


	3. Chapter 3

Penny awoke with a start to find an arm wrapped around her waist with Sheldon's head buried in the crook of her neck and she soon realised they were spooning. Blinking to make sure she wasn't actually dreaming, she looked at her clock and realised the time was 5.53am. Sheldon would be awake in 7 minutes and go into his routine of waking up, getting his breakfast and watching Dr Who on BBC America. Closing her eyes and pretending to sleep, it wasn't long before she felt Sheldon awake.

'Good Lord, what on earth?' he mumbled to himself. Penny found herself extremely turned on by his morning voice but remained still, pretending to be asleep. She felt his arm slowly retracting from her waist, leaving it cold before suddenly she was prodded awake. 'Penny, you're in my bed. You can't be in my bed.'

Penny rolled over to face him and realised he was now standing up and looking at her. 'Actually Sheldon, you might find that in fact, you are in my bed.' She smiled and Sheldon looked at her obviously caught out as he realised that it was true: that he wasn't in his usual surroundings.

'Well you shouldn't be sleeping next to me, that is unwanted physical contact and you know my policies on that.'

'I'm sorry Sheldon, I don't know why I did it… I guess I just wanted to be near you.' Penny sat up and rubbed her eyes.

'Well, make sure it doesn't happen again please.'

'Ok, I promise it won't happen again…but thank you for staying with me last night,' Penny yawned.

'Good, I will hold you to that promise,' Sheldon sighed , 'I had better go and get ready for Dr Who. I've never missed an episode and I don't intend on starting today.'

'Ok, well I'm going to go back to sleep… goodnight Sheldon,' Penny closed her eyes again.

'Penny?'

'Yes Sheldon?' Penny kept her eyes closed as she spoke. There was a quiet silence before he spoke.

'Because I stayed the night with you and you slept with me, does that qualify as me cheating on Amy?' Penny couldn't help but smile at his naivety with relationships.

'Sheldon sweetie, you didn't cheat on Amy. If you had sex with me or kissed me _then_ you would have cheated. And if you still don't understand, go and get clarification from Leonard.' Penny trailed off, falling back into a slumber.

'Yes, of course... right well have a good few more hours sleep Penny, and I shall see you later,' Sheldon said before noticing that Penny was fast asleep. Sheldon smiled at her sleeping form before retreating back to 4A. On his way out and back to the apartment, he couldn't help but feel that although he was a bit shocked to wake up next to Penny, it wasn't as horrible as he had previously thought. Perhaps he should comply next time Amy asked him to stay the night with her; if sleeping next to Penny wasn't bad then sleeping next to his girlfriend couldn't be either.

* * *

Leonard had had a restless night, he kept drifting in and out of consciousness and during the times that sleep would not come, all he had been thinking about was what he had done with Priya and how he, of all people, would cheat. It proved the fact that it could happen to anyone and the last thing he had wanted was to hurt Penny. After waking up for what he decided to be the final time, Leonard made his way to the living room and decided to do some work and began to start writing calculations on the white board in order to preoccupy his brain with something other than thoughts of Penny and his guilt At 6.05am, he nearly jumped out of his skin when the door slowly creaked open and a tall shadow walked through

'AHHHH!' Leonard screamed as the tall figure entered the room.

'AHHHHHH!' came an annoying familiar shriek

'Sheldon?' Leonard looked baffled as he went to switch the lights on and took in the appearance of his roommate just standing there in his Friday pyjamas.

'Leonard you scared me!'

'_I_ scared _you_?'

'Yes!'

'What were you doing outside the apartment at this time?'

'I slept with Penny,' Sheldon's response came and Leonard's jaw dropped. Sheldon ignored it and walked over to the kitchen to pour his fibre controlled cereal.

'You slept with her!'

'Yes,' Sheldon said, not bothering to look up at him.

'You slept with my girlfriend!'

Sheldon gave a snort of derision. 'I'd hardly say she was your girlfriend now Leonard.'

'Of course she is, well at least I think so… she didn't break up with me so that still makes her my girlfriend! You have Amy, what about her?! Why don't you sleep with her?'

'Amy wasn't upset so there was no reason for me to sleep with her.' Sheldon shrugged as he made his way to his spot and sat down, turning on BBC America to watch the news prior to Dr Who.

'Sheldon, do you realise that by sleeping with Penny you have cheated on Amy!'

'No I haven't. I asked Penny and she said that sleeping together doesn't count. Only if we engaged in coitus or kissing, both of which are not on my list of priorities, would it be classed as cheating.' Sheldon took a mouthful of his cereal as Leonard finally put two and two together and let out a sigh of relief.

'Oh you actually slept with her, you didn't actually sleep with her.'

'I fail to see the difference.' Sheldon looked at him in confusion and Leonard sighed.

'I thought you had had sex with her,' Leonard sighed, 'sorry, bit of confusion there.'

Sheldon pulled a face at the idea of him engaging in a sexual scenario. 'Leonard! You of all people know that I have no future plans to procreate or engage in coitus.'

'You're right, I should have known since you _are_ from another planet. Do you think I should go over and apologise?'

'Leonard, it's inadvisable to wake Penny before 11am.'

'I have to talk to her though Sheldon, explain myself and salvage what I can. I love her with every fibre of my being!'

'Then why did you choose to engage in intercourse with Priya?' Sheldon asked.

'I told you this yesterday, it just happened.'

'Don't be ridiculous Leonard. These things don't just happen, for starters how did Priya even get close enough to kiss you?'

'It was all so fast Sheldon. She just came forward and kissed me and I responded. Before I knew it, she was taking off my shirt and I was carrying her to the bedroom. But all of that is irrelevant! Penny is the woman I want to be with!'

'Leonard, yesterday you stated it felt right and comfortable kissing and engaging in coitus with Priya. Did it ever occur to you that maybe you let it happen because deep down it's Priya you truly love?'

'No! Penny is the woman I love, ever since I first laid eyes on her. She's right for me in every way and she's so amazing and beautiful and funny…' Leonard trailed off and Sheldon sighed and opened his mouth to speak; only to be cut off by Leonard continuing, 'But Priya, she's exotic, smart, challenging and successful... Priya is perfection.'

'Well I wouldn't say perfection unless it's in the sense of she's the perfect pain in the ass,' Sheldon mumbled to himself and Leonard shot him a look.

'I think though… despite me thinking Priya is perfection, I do truly love Penny. I don't want perfection, I want Penny,' Leonard said definitely before making his way towards the door, 'I have to speak to her. And I don't care if it's before 11!' he added, taking the words out of Sheldon's mouth.

'Alright but don't come crying to me when she breaks your nose for awaking her early.'

'You're surprisingly calm about all of this Sheldon, its weirding me out.'

'Leonard, I am not taking any sides. This is a matter that needs to be resolved between you and Penny. You are my best friend and Penny is my, well I don't know what she is. I guess she's my Penny? I need to remain calm and embrace my inner Vulcan. Only then can I find true logic.'

'Alright, well wish me luck then. I'm going to talk to her; oh and by the way… that 11 o clock rule might just apply to you dude,' Leonard chuckled.

'It so does not.' Sheldon murmured before looking at the television screen for the start of Doctor Who only to find that he had missed 22 minutes of the programme. 'Nooooooooo!'

**Hope you liked it, Taken reviews into account and done my best so you know the drill, review and let me know what you think. It gives me the motivation to write more :] xx**


	4. Chapter 4

Leonard took a deep breath before knocking on Penny's door. After three attempts, the door finally opened and Penny immediately tried to shut it again in his face. Leonard, however, wedged his foot in the way.

'Penny, I know it's early and I'm the last person you want to see but please… let me talk to you.' He begged.

'Didn't Sheldon explain my 11am rule?' she spat.

'Yes but I didn't think it applied to me seeing as I'm your boyfriend!' Leonard cried, ignoring the pain as Penny continued to try and close the door. Though, as soon as he said the word "boyfriend" Penny stopped her attempts at trying to shove Leonard out the way and opened the door.

'I'm not even sure if you deserve that title any more Leonard.' She growled and Leonard sighed.

'Please, let me come in and explain myself.'

Penny exhaled in defeat and stepped out the way, allowing Leonard entrance to her apartment.

'Make it fast; I need my beauty sleep Leonard.' She said sitting beside him on the couch.

'I want to start out by telling you how sorry I am! I never meant to hurt you; it was a massive mistake with Priya. I love you, and only you and I don't know what came over me when I gave into Priya's flirtations. I'm so sorry Penny, please forgive me, please.' Leonard grabbed Penny's hands and kissed them. Tears started swimming again in Penny's eyes and she tried to pull away from Leonard, but he kept his grip firm on his hands.

'I don't think I can forgive you Leonard. You've really hurt me, destroyed all my trust in you, you've thrown everything away over this… I thought I had found someone who wasn't a jerk, to look after me and who would never cheat and you've done all of those things.'

'Penny, I'm so sorry, you must believe me! It will never, ever happen again, I promise.'

'I can't,' Penny tried to blink her tears away, but despite her efforts, they rolled down her cheeks, 'I don't want to cry anymore.'

'I don't want you to cry either!' Leonard whispered, wiping her tears away with his thumb. This action by Leonard suddenly changed Penny's mood from sad to angry. How dare he act like a caring boyfriend trying to cheer her up as if her best friend or family pet had died! She tore her hands out of Leonard's and her eyes screamed pure rage.

'Well since you are the cause of my tears, I don't think you have any grounds to say that Leonard!'

'I know you have every right to be angry with me…'

'Angry? I'm beyond angry Leonard… I'm at the point where there is no way I can ever forgive you for this! I'm at the point where you don't deserve me wasting my emotions and feelings on you! I'm far better off being single and waiting for a nice guy than hanging around hoping you will change and trying to trust you again!'

'Don't be stupid Penny!'

'Oh so now I'm stupid?' Penny yelled, standing up and facing Leonard, who in turn got up and matched Penny's stance.

'I'm not saying you're stupid, I'm saying your reactions and theories are pretty stupid at the moment!'

'How are my reactions pretty stupid? I think I'm reacting perfectly normal as any person who had caught their boyfriend in bed with another woman. It's my heart that's broken and it's your entire fault! You're the one who fucked Priya, not I!'

'My God are you listening to yourself? Do you know how childish you sound right now? Trying to score points as opposed to an adult discussion?!'

'Oh so now I'm a child? Well at least I'm not stupid anymore!' Penny yelled.

'Well the two aren't mutually exclusive!' Leonard yelled right back and Penny scoffed at him. 'Do you know what that means? Or shall I grab you a dictionary for dummies?'

'Oh you are unbelievable! Tell me, if I hadn't of walked in on you, would you have told me what you'd done, would you have started an affair or would you have kept it to yourself? You sleep with another woman and expect me to be all hunky dory about it and forgive you as if it doesn't matter, as if nothing ever happened?! Well Leonard you are totally wrong! I will never forgive you! I will never forget what you have done to me and I hope you are truly happy in the distant future. Please do forget to invite me to yours and Priya's extravagant wedding!'

'Penny stop it… I love you!'

'No! If you love someone you don't go and sleep with your ex! Especially when your girlfriend lives in the apartment opposite you! How dare you Leonard! I may be blonde and I may not be as smart as you, but I am no fool! You know what though… Priya can have you because I certainly don't want you anymore. In fact I wouldn't touch you with a 10 foot bargepole now. It's over between us, done. Now get out!' Penny shrieked.

'Penny…'

'OUT!'

'Fine, Priya has far more perks than you anyways… for one thing she's far more intelligent than you will ever be! At least that way I can have a proper intellectually stimulating conversation with her!' Leonard yelled before slamming the door behind him and marching back into apartment 4A. Sheldon looked up at him inquisitively and raised his eyebrows.

'Has your relationship reached its inevitable ugly end?' he asked and Leonard rolled his eyes.

'No.' he said sarcastically.

'Really? After all that shouting I heard, I would have thought…. Oh sarcasm?'

'Yes sarcasm.' Leonard growled, 'She dumped me, told me to get with Priya.'

'I know. I heard.' Sheldon sighed, turning off the television. He'd already missed most of David Tennant's genius of Dr Who, there was no point trying to tune in now when he knew a monologue from Leonard was about to start.

'Were we really that loud?' Leonard sighed.

'I'm pretty sure Mrs Zweitek two floors up could hear you… and she's deaf!'

'Helpful Sheldon, real helpful.'

'Sarcasm?'

'Got it in one Sheldon; I guess I just don't know what to do now. I'm single again and I don't want to be with Priya, I hate how I left things with Penny and I really don't think she's ever going to talk to me again!'

'You're upset. Shall I make you a hot beverage? Tea perhaps?'

'No thank you.' Leonard sighed.

'Coffee?'

'No! I don't want anything!'

'Er the hot beverage thing isn't optional. Now sit your keester down, cause you're getting a hot beverage! Tea or Coffee?' he said, walking over to the kitchen.

'Fine, make me a cup of whatever.'

'I don't think I've ever heard of that one, what's in it?' Sheldon asked and Leonard rolled his eyes.

'Absolutely nothing, I made it up. Just ignore the beverage thing for now! How can I win Penny back?'

'Tea it is. Don't ask me, I have no experience in this field but ask me about String Theory and I'll explain it backwards.' Sheldon said, popping the teabag in a mug.

'Sheldon stop. I don't want tea, I want Penny.' Leonard sighed and closed his eyes, 'I think I'm gonna go back to bed. Raj and Wolowitz are coming over later and I haven't slept at all because I feel so awful.'

Sheldon shrugged and put the teabag back in the box. 'Suit yourself. I however need to make sure I see Amy today, so if she is not over comforting Penny, I need you to drive me over to see her.' Sheldon smiled.

'Just take the bus for once Sheldon, I'm too depressed to drive you anywhere!'

'May I remind you of the last time I rode a bus? I ended up coming home with at least a week's unwanted supply of mutton and coconut milk. That did not settle well with my stomach Leonard, so I can't ride the bus.'

'Well I guess you can't see Amy then.'

'But…'

'Sheldon I am not driving you! End of discussion, now just… leave me alone.' Leonard stalked back to his room, leaving Sheldon stand there alone. Sighing, he picked up the telephone and called Amy.

'Good morning Amy, I'm sorry for the early awakening but I thought you should know that you need to collect me so that I can spend time with you today.'

**Glad that everyone is liking the story so far! If you have any ideas for the story, let me know. Your reviews inspire me to write more! xx**


	5. Chapter 5

It was 1 o clock in the afternoon and Penny was already on her third large glass of wine, in addition to the 3 jägerbombs, 4 vodka shots and two beers she had had prior. She knew drowning her sorrows in alcohol wasn't the answer but it was the weekend and she wasn't working tomorrow and it sure as hell made her feel better. Downing the glass, she began to refill it when suddenly the door knocked. Sighing, she put the bottle down, stumbled over to the door and opened it.

'Hello Bestie,' Amy said, 'May I come in?'

'Sure, could use some company to be honest. Fancy a drink?' Penny stood aside and let Amy walk in.

'Sheldon told me everything on the phone this morning when discussing driving arrangements so I thought I'd pop round and see how you're doing. But judging from your alcohol intake and the way you're dressed I would say not so good,' Amy said looking at Penny up and down, taking in her messy hair, oversized t shirt and leggings, 'but despite your homeless look, you still exude raw sexuality to me.'

Penny smiled; Amy's compliments always managed to cheer her up because they were so odd. 'Thanks Amy,' she said, 'you're right though, I'm not doing so well.'

'Understandable. I understand that it is the social norm for us to bitch about Leonard to make you feel better whilst eating excessive amounts of...' Amy opened her bag and pulled out 12 large bars of Hershey's chocolate, 'chocolate! Tadaaa!'

'Amy, you know I love you but…'

'Love you too bestie,' Amy interrupted and gave her a Cheshire cat grin.

'But, I just really want to get really, really, really… really drunk. Its either chocolate or alcohol and today I pick alcohol.'

'I think you're almost there you gorgeous vixen so let us continue,' Amy walked over to the kitchen and poured her and Penny two new large glasses of red wine. 'You're drinking white wine, studies show that red gets you drunk faster so….,' Amy thrust the glass in Penny's hand and raised her glass, 'To getting really, really drunk.'

'To getting really, really drunk,' Penny chuckled and both she and Amy took a sip after they chinked glasses, 'Thank you Amy, I really appreciate you coming to cheer me up.'

'My fingers are tingling and my brain feels funny. I think it's affected me already… the only explanation is that I am wasted.'

'Amy, you had one sip of wine, you can't be drunk!' Penny giggled, taking another gulp of wine before shrugging and downing the rest of the glass.

'I must be an extreme lightweight then.' Amy chuckled.

'Oh sweetie, if you feel drunk after one sip of wine, extreme doesn't even cover it.' Penny hugged her friend and kissed her cheek.

_Knock knock knock_

'Penny'

_Knock knock knock_

'Penny'

_Knock knock knock_

'Penny'

Penny chuckled to herself; there was something kind of cute about Sheldon's OCD knocking thrice on her door. Opening the door, she smiled at him.

'What's cookin good lookin,' she giggled hysterically to a bewildered Sheldon.

'It appears you've taken in excessive amounts of alcohol Penny,' he said, walking into her apartment

'I'm wasted too!' Amy piped in.

'Really, I expect it from Penny but not from you Amy,' Sheldon sighed in disappointment.

'Heeeeeyyy, that's not very nice you big… mean… man,' Penny slurred.

'You are drunk Penny, I think that perhaps you should go to bed before your liver and kidneys fail.'

'No, I think I should go to the bathroom,' Penny ran to the bathroom and soon the sounds of Penny throwing up could be heard. Sheldon found himself to be a little worried. His Penny was taking this really badly, whilst Leonard was just feeling sorry for himself and playing Halo III on the Xbox, 'How much has she had to drink?'

'I'm guessing a lot, she was really drunk when I arrived. It appears though that my drunkenness doesn't seem to have lasted very long,' Amy sighed, 'darn it, maybe I should knock back a few spirits?'

'Amy, might I suggest that you don't do that. Wolowitz and Koothrapali will be over soon so I wanted to catch you before we start Dungeons and Dragons.' Sheldon stated, sitting down next to Amy.

'Ok, what's up?'

'I want to sleep with you tonight,' Sheldon said and Amy's eyes almost popped out of their sockets.

'What?!'

'Perhaps I phrased that incorrectly. I wish to conduct an experiment that requires both you and me to sleep at your apartment tonight. As I explained to you this morning, I fell asleep next to Penny whilst trying to make her feel better yesterday and I found it oddly enjoyable. So from my findings I thought if it's enjoyable with someone like Penny, it must be enjoyable with my girlfriend. Therefore an experiment is needed to be done in order to validate my hypothesis. No coitus will be involved of course; I just wish to alter the paradigm of our relationship slightly in order to accommodate this experiment.'

Amy furrowed her brow before shuffling in her seat to face him more squarely. 'Proposal: You may conduct this experiment at my apartment on the proviso that I get some intimacy from you. Instead of coitus I propose we have a hot make out session in bed… with tongues. A night filled with romance that goes to third base and sets fire to my loins.'

Sheldon blinked at his girlfriend and cleared his throat, 'Er… counter proposal, I will sleep next to you aaaaand pat your back should you choke on your spit in your sleep.'

'How about this, full body massage with a no clothes rule,' Amy suggested and Sheldon sighed.

'Dear Lord Amy, you need to learn to keep your libido in check, I know I am a total chick magnet but really...'

'Fine, we sleep in the same bed and you cuddle me? Final offer.'

Sheldon paused to think about the offer before nodding and standing up, 'Very well.'

'Perhaps a kiss as well?'

'Don't push your luck Amy,' Sheldon scoffed, 'just be ready to leave at 9.30pm and make sure Penny is ok until then. I must go set up for our game of Dungeons and Dragons, no way will I lose to Wolowitz again.'

Amy smiled to herself as she watched her boyfriend leave Penny's apartment. As soon as the door shut, Penny entered the room. 'Ugh, I feel so awful,' she groaned. Amy looked around but couldn't see Penny anywhere, 'down here Amy,' Penny's voice came and Amy's eyebrows rose as she saw her friend crawling back into the room on all fours.

'Perhaps drowning your sorrows in alcohol was not the best idea my beautiful blonde bombshell.'

'I'm starting to think you're right, what did Sheldon want?'

'He told me that he's going to sleep with me tonight,' Amy said, still reeling in shock. Penny gawked at her friend.

'As in he's going to have sex with you! Oh my God, Sheldon really is a red blooded male, I can't believe it!' Penny cried, a slur still present in her voice.

'No, no intercourse. He said he enjoyed sleeping beside you last night and wanted to attempt it with me. For scientific reasons only though: in order to draft a direct comparison between your beautiful self and me.' Amy shrugged.

'Well, it's still a big step for Sheldon; with me he woke up to me sleeping next to him so it was involuntary, but with you he is choosing to share a bed with you.'

'You make an excellent point Penny,' Amy replied, 'but er…why don't you get up?'

'I figured since I'm seeing three of you at the moment that getting up wouldn't be a good idea. Plus the world is still spinning,' Penny blinked repeatedly to try and steady herself.

'Would you like me to help you into bed bestie?'

'That would be… wonderful.'

* * *

'Take that Wolowitz, I win!' Sheldon cried, jumping up from his spot in delight after winning dungeons and dragons, 'Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to pack.'

'Pack? Where are you going?' Leonard asked.

'I'm conducting an experiment that requires me to stay the night; I will be back tomorrow morning.' Sheldon smiled before stalking off to his room.

'So did you know Priya is back?' Raj said, swigging back liquor from the bottle he had in his hand.

'Really?' Howard asked and Raj nodded.

'Yes, she was supposed to come on Sunday but she arrived yesterday evening. I wonder how Penny will feel about her coming back for good, what do you think Leonard?' Raj asked.

'Oh I don't know,' Leonard started to feel very uncomfortable.

'Well they bonded over your flaws last time so I'm sure they'll be fine this time round.' Wolowitz laughed.

'Who will be fine?' Sheldon asked.

'No one Sheldon, just drop it.' Leonard growled through his teeth. Although it wasn't picked up by Sheldon, both Howard and Raj noticed it.

'Woah, what's with the hostility dude?' Raj asked and Leonard buried his head in his hands.

'You mean you don't know yet? I would have thought that Amy or Penny would have told Bernadette, who in turn would have told Wolowitz, who in turn would have told you,' Sheldon said and Leonard shook his head, still keeping his head at the floor and praying Sheldon wouldn't say anything. However there was no chance Sheldon would keep quiet now, Leonard knew that.

'What happened?'

'Unfortunately Leonard engaged in intercourse with Priya and Penny walked in on them. Subsequently, the two of them have terminated their relationship and whilst Leonard plays games, Penny drowns her sorrows in alcohol.' Sheldon said and both Howard and Raj's jaw dropped.

'You cheated on Penny?' Howard cried at the same time Raj exclaimed:

'You defiled my sister… again!'

'Yes, and I feel horrible about it! Penny ended it with me and wait… did you say Penny was drinking heavily?' Leonard asked.

'Yes, she's drinking a lot but she's got Amy to look after her for now. If you really want to win her back Leonard, you are going to have to wait until she is ready for you. It only happened yesterday Leonard, and if you approach Penny again to try and rectify the situation the you're practically asking her to transform herself into the death star and shoot you. Anyway gentleman, I bid you goodnight and will see you tomorrow.' Sheldon gave a wave to the group and left the apartment.

'Dude, I didn't think you had it in you to cheat.' Howard said, still in shock.

'Neither did I, but it happened and there's nothing I can do about it.' Leonard sighed as his phone began to chime, 'oh god it' Priya… what should I do? Should I answer it?'

'You gotta make a choice dude, Penny or Priya.'

**Ohhhhh Priya or penny? Thank you my lovely reviewers so far, you've really motivated me to write, the more motivation I get the faster I can update. I did have a writers block before I uploaded this chapter! Let me know what you think and enjoy the rest of your day! xx **


	6. Chapter 6

Amy opened the door to her apartment and walked in with baited breath alongside Sheldon. Sheldon placed his overnight bag down on the floor and observed the surroundings that he would be staying in tonight.

'How was Penny when you left her?' Sheldon asked.

'She seemed fine; at least a lot better than she was when I arrived. She was more sober and with it; I looked after her and kept her company and I think she enjoyed it. We watched chick flicks which included Bridget Jones Diary and then she went to sleep just before I left.'

'Good, I should hate for her to be sad still and under the influence of alcohol, it could be a lethal concoction,' Sheldon sighed.

'I'm sure she will be fine Sheldon. Right… it's 9.45, what do you want to do?' Amy asked.

'I suppose you could help me unpack,' Sheldon shrugged.

'Ok…' Amy said softly, her heart pounding. She knew she probably wouldn't get much out of Sheldon and that him staying with her was just an experiment but she figured she try and get as much as intimacy as she could out of it as possible. Slowly but surely they both got through unpacking his overnight back, 'Sheldon, one would think you were going on holiday for two weeks.' Amy laughed, 'why on earth did you bring three boxes of your cereal with you?'

'Well, I wanted variety,' Sheldon said in a matter of fact voice.

'But I have cereal here?'

'Yes but it's your cereal, this is my cereal.' Sheldon said, picking up the cereal box and hugging it to his chest. Amy rolled her eyes and then proceeded to show Sheldon where everything was and how it worked, Sheldon all the while taking notes. After this they came up a bathroom rota and Amy realised that it was approaching 10.15pm.

'Come on then Sheldon, I suppose we had best get ready and head to bed…. Wow that sounded weird.' She chuckled.

'Alright Amy, I shall use the bathroom first and you can prepare a Yoo-hoo for me.' Sheldon ordered before making his way over to the bathroom and getting ready for bed. He emerged around 10 minutes later in his Saturday night pyjamas, 'whist you use the bathroom, I shall prepare my charts and graphs ready for the experiment,' Sheldon smiled, 'now where's my Yoo-hoo?'

'On the table, I'll see you in a minute,' Amy smiled before almost skipping to the bathroom. Sheldon heard the shower start and took a deep breath.

'Relax Shelly, you are sharing a bed with your girlfriend for experimental purposes. If you did it with Penny, you can do it with Amy because Amy is your girlfriend. It will be like sharing the sofa, only lying down and... oh God Sheldon! What are you doing? For a phenomenal genius you are incredibly stupid sometimes! Then again this is for the purpose of science…'

Whilst Sheldon was rambling to himself, Amy had finished in the bathroom and had come out in her nightgown. She shook her head at his incessant gabbing and made her way to her bed, getting in underneath the duvets.

'Sheldon! I'm ready for my cuddles!' she called and soon Sheldon trudged in.

'Oh dear Lord… you know Amy, perhaps we should call off this experiment?'

'Sheldon,' Amy gave him a scolding look and he sighed.

'Fiiiiiine, let's get this over with,' he whined.

'I don't see your problem, you enjoyed it with Penny, what makes you think you won't enjoy it with me?' Amy asked and Sheldon was stumped for a response. Sighing in defeat, he nodded.

'Agreed,' he slipped in next to her and slowly and awkwardly they moved towards each other, Amy placing her head on his chest and Sheldon awkwardly placing his arms around her.

'How does this feel?' she asked and he shifted slightly, analysing the situation.

'It doesn't feel bad, but it is definitely still alien to me,' Sheldon said. Whilst he said those words, he couldn't help but feel that he much preferred it with Penny, especially when her hair smelt like green apple as opposed to medicated anti dandruff shampoo. When he awoke next to her and they're arms and legs were intertwined, it felt as if he was meant to be there and he almost didn't want to move. He would definitely have to write this down and analyse this down to its very core. But then again, Amy was his girlfriend, surely these results he was collecting were incorrect; social convention dictated that he should like and want to do this more with Amy as opposed to Penny.

'Sheldon, will you kiss me again… like you did on Valentine's Day on the train?' Amy said softly, nuzzling softly into his chest and Sheldon tensed, 'please… it may add to the findings of the experiment,' she added.

Sheldon looked down at his girlfriend and removed his arms from her whilst she moved away to face him, puckering her lips slightly and starting to close her eyes. 'Amy, when I kissed you on the train, I will not deny that I enjoyed it. However that kiss was to prove a point and totally by accident. Our relationship is one of the mind remember? It clearly stipulates this in the relationship agreement.'

Amy was annoyed at her boyfriend's response and crossed her arms, a harsh look coming across her features, one of which Sheldon didn't like.

'Sheldon, we need to talk.'

'Alright, speak.'

'I'm going to ask you something now and I want you to answer me truthfully. I know you find our relationship intimate at the moment but I can't help but crave more. I long to be kissed, to be touched and loved, to have a relationship that involves intercourse; like Penny and Leonard or Wolowitz and Bernadette. I want to know… do you think we will ever consummate our relationship. Do you see us getting married? Where is our relationship going? We've been together for three years now and I'm not getting any younger. I want children and I want to live in a house and get married and at the moment you won't even kiss me unless you wish to prove a point. I'm 28 years old, you are 34, my menstrual cycle is regular and my womb is ready for breeding... we are at the prime age for settling down and having children.'

Sheldon shifted uncomfortably. 'Oh dear, I do believe my answers may be disappointing to you. Amy, as you know I am not comfortable with intimacy and it does not come as easily to me as it does to others. In response to our future, I'm afraid to say that I have no plans for children or marriage in the near future. My goal at the moment is to win a Nobel Prize and that's all I aim for at the moment. This is a big step for me staying in your apartment and it's already uncomfortable. I mean I have not yet established my place to sit, I am not around my familiar surroundings and you are the only person in the building that I know.'

Amy bowed her head and blinked away a couple of tears, 'So essentially you are saying that our relationship is to stay like this forever?'

'Well not forever, just for the next ten years.'

'Sheldon, I don't know if I can wait that long…'

'Amy, I know this is disappointing for you but please accept my views on the matter. I know that I am not the most romantic of boyfriends and I'm not really sure why I am in a relationship, all I know is that I need you and for the moment, that's good enough for me.' Sheldon said gently and Amy nodded.

'Do you even love me?'

'Love? Well there's different types of love aren't there. There's friendship love, theres…'

'Sheldon, you know what love I am referring to! Just answer the god damn question!'

'Amy, I care for you a great deal but I don't know if I love you. I'd have to think about it.'

'Right… I see, well I suppose we had best sleep then.' Amy whispered and Sheldon nodded, not picking up on how his words had hurt her. His words just then had spoken volumes about their relationship and it pained her to know that he did not love her like she had thought.

'Goodnight Amy,' he said before closing his eyes and lying straight as a board. Although sleep came quick to Sheldon, Amy remained awake. She was now confused at her boyfriend's actions, there was definitely no doubt that he had feelings for her; no he didn't love her but he definitely cared strongly for her and that he liked to show it in his own special way. However there were times when it seemed that he was far more comfortable being intimate with her bestie than with her. Sheldon had no problem hugging Penny or visiting her apartment, he seemed to be very concerned for her wellbeing more than anyone else in their friendship group. Penny was beautiful and everything a guy could want and herself? Well she was plain and awkward and still a virgin. Sheldon had mentioned their relationship being like this for the next 10 years, although she may be able to get Sheldon more comfortable with intimacy and there was a chance he could change, she felt like she couldn't take that risk. Amy rolled over to look at her sleeping boyfriend and softly kissed him on the lips before attempting to cuddle up to him. However, no sooner had she cuddled up to him, he shifted away from her.

'Conclusion of experiment: Penny is better than Amy.' Amy whispered to herself. She would have to discuss her findings with Penny and see what she said. Amy had always thought there was sexual tension between them but Penny always had Leonard to fall back on and Sheldon just didn't understand. She was pretty sure that if she and Sheldon reverted to being friends, there would be no difference. She picked up her phone from the bedside table and turned it on, flicking down to Burt's number and sending him a text.

_Hi Burt, _

_Fancy grabbing lunch one day?_

_Amy x_

**Thanks for all your lovely reviews guys I really enjoy reading them :] Started to stir the pot between Sheldon and Amy but haven't quite figured out how to break them up yet… any suggestions? Thanks for reading and let me know what you think of the chapter! xx**


	7. Chapter 7

Leonard sighed to himself. It was weird sitting alone at 11pm at night in the apartment without Sheldon in the building. He had chosen to ignore the phone call from Priya earlier in hopes that if he had no contact with her, his chances of getting Penny back were higher.

Penny.

Penny. Penny. Penny. Penny. Penny. Penny. Penny. Penny. Penny. Penny. Penny. Penny.

That was the only name that crossed his mind and he was finding it difficult not to think about her. He got up out of his chair and started pacing about the apartment. He had to find some way of talking to her or showing her that he loved her and was truly sorry. He knew that Penny was a sucker for romance, so he racked his brain for inspiration to no avail. Moving into his bedroom and sitting on the bed, he looked around asking God for a sign but nothing. That was until he laid his eyes on his cello case. Perhaps a song would make her see sense, but he was no good at writing music and wasn't the best of players. Sheldon, on the other hand, was an amazing pianist and Leonard knew he wrote music. It was his hidden hobby and Leonard couldn't recall the number of times he had walked into the apartment and heard Sheldon playing on his keyboard when he thought he was alone. As much as he hated to admit to another one of Sheldon's talents, he had to give him credit as Sheldon did have an ear for music and the piano. Following this, Leonard made his way to Sheldon's room and slowly opened the door. Sure enough, his Keyboard was tucked away in the corner and there were sheets of music on the table beside it along with CDs of home recordings that Sheldon had made.

Taking one labelled "_Amor Perdidos_" out of the case, Leonard popped the CD into the player and listened. The music was sad yet calming and it somehow made Leonard forget his problems. The track lasted about 5 minutes and those 5 minutes were the most 5 tranquil minutes of Leonard's day and he was thankful for that. Sheldon's music had helped him come up with a plan too: Sheldon would write a piece of music for him and he would learn it and then play it to Penny! It was fool proof.

'I am a genius!' Leonard said gleefully to himself. Making sure to pop everything back where it was, Leonard made his way to bed. Operation Win Back Penny would begin officially tomorrow once Sheldon returned back to the apartment.

* * *

Amy awoke the next morning to an empty bed.

'Sheldon?' she called out.

'Out here Amy!' he called back from her lounge. Getting out of bed and putting her dressing gown and glasses on, she walked into the living area to see Sheldon fully dressed and hunched over his charts. 'Good morning Amy,' he smiled.

'Good morning? What's got you such in a good mood?' she asked suspiciously and Sheldon shrugged.

'Look…I'm plotting data… it's so exciting!' Sheldon said gleefully, like a kid at Christmas. Amy raised her eyebrows.

'So what is the outcome of your experiment?'

'Well, I believe more analysing needs to be done but last night was enjoyable.' Sheldon said and Amy nodded.

'Even though we fought?'

'We? No Amy, I believe you were the one trying to pick and fight and totally overreacting, not I. I simply stated the facts but that's the trouble with you women, you're hormones go all stir crazy but I'll forgive you.' Sheldon stated, taking a sip of orange juice from his glass. Amy found that she couldn't be bothered to argue with him, it would only ruin her day and she was already tense enough.

'Whatever Sheldon, I'm getting up now. Why don't you just go home?' Amy sighed and Sheldon frowned.

'How will I get home if you aren't there to drive me?'

'Sheldon, I don't care… I have to do some work today so I need you out of my apartment!' Amy said, her patience wearing thin.

'Amy, I sense that you are angry with me? Have I said something improper or to upset you?' he asked.

'You really don't understand do you? Look Sheldon, please just leave. You're fully dressed and ready to go, I would appreciate it if you left.' Amy sighed, rubbing her eyes and Sheldon nodded.

'Alright, I shall telephone you later to check in on you.' Sheldon said and he walked up to her and slowly leaned towards her before very quickly and very awkwardly kissing her cheek. Turning on his heel, he picked up his mobile and called Leonard, 'Hello Leonard, I need to ask a favour of you. Will you please pick me up from Amy's apartment? No I did not engage in coitus with her… well if you must know I was carrying out an experiment. All of this is irrelevant though, please pick me up. Alright, I shall see you in 10 minutes.' Sheldon hung up and packed all his research away. 'I shall see you later Amy,' Sheldon smiled before opening the front door and exiting the apartment.

As soon as the door shut, Amy let out the breath she had been holding. She couldn't deny her shock when Sheldon kissed her on the cheek but somehow it seemed less meaningful now. Opening her own phone, she saw that she had a response from Burt.

_Hello Amy,_

_Would love to go for lunch. When shall we go? My treat._

_Love Burt xxx_

Amy bit her lip in worry before deciding to call her bestie. It was nearly 10 o clock and she was sure Penny wouldn't mind. She punched in Penny's number and pressed call; after three rings she was greeted with Penny's beautiful voice.

'Hey Bestie,' Amy said.

'_Hey Amy, what's up?'_

'I need to speak with you… could you come over? I don't want to run the risk of running into Sheldon.'

'_Has something happened between you guys?_

'No, not yet but I need to have a serious chat with you about him.'

'_Alright, I'm on my way.' _

'Ok, thanks Penny,' Amy smiled before hanging up. Penny would know what to do.

* * *

Sheldon walked into the apartment with Leonard and placed his overnight bag back in his room. Observing his surroundings, he frowned.

'Leonard, have you been in my bedroom?' He asked and Leonard sighed and just decided to admit the truth.

'Yes, I have,' he sighed, 'how did you know?'

'My CD rack is about 10 degrees more to the left in comparison to how I left it. Why were you in my bedroom?' Sheldon asked.

'OK, well I'd best come straight out with it. I know you play the piano extraordinarily well because I've heard you. I wanted to listen to some of your stuff… and I thought maybe you could help me compose a piece of music for Penny? Y'know… to help me win her back.' Leonard shuffled his feet and Sheldon glared at him. The music he wrote and performed was his way of disconnecting himself from the genius physicist that everyone knew him as. He was almost a different person, a better person; in fact he was a person far more in touch with their emotions when he was around his music and piano. To have Leonard rummage through his personal belongings and actually listen to a composition he had written angered him.

'You listened to my personal recordings? That is a total invasion of my privacy Leonard; my recordings are for my ears only. I can't believe you barged into my bedroom when you knew I would be absent from the apartment and then proceeded to listen to something I make for myself, something that I like to keep private from everyone else, something I can call my own in this Godforsaken world.'

'Sheldon, I'm sorry… I didn't mean to…'

'No, this has crossed the line! It's one thing that you engage in coitus with that awful woman and cheat on my Penny but it's a whole other thing to disrespect me. These are my personal tapes and I don't want anyone to listen to them and so help me if you ever enter my bedroom again without my express permission, I will terminate the roommate agreement. So in answer to your request, I will politely decline to help you. I'm not sure you deserve to have Penny back Leonard. I lost respect for you the second I came home to see you and Priya running around like headless chickens. Do you know what I think; I think you should leave Penny alone and get on with your life. She no longer wants you and she will never take you back; Priya is probably at her hotel waiting for you so why don't you go and be with her. That's where she wants you to be, that's where Penny wants you to be, that's where I want you to be and that's where you want to be.' Sheldon growled and Leonard was speechless. He knew Sheldon was a private person, but not to this degree. Sheldon had never spoken to him like that before and Leonard respected him for it. He took in his points and saw their validity; so he nodded before retreating out of Sheldon's room.

'You're right, I'm er… going to head out. I'll be back in the evening,' Leonard said softly and Sheldon frowned, looking at the clock.

'It's only 10.30, what are you going to do for the duration of the day?'

'Comic book store, go and do some work in the lab, see Priya? I'll see you later.' Leonard sighed before grabbing his jacket and leaving the apartment. When Sheldon saw the coast was clear, he went over to Penny's apartment.

_Knock knock knock_

'Penny.'

_Knock knock knock_

'Penny'

_Knock knock knock_

'Penny.'

Sheldon stood there waiting before he came to the conclusion that Penny was out. Or maybe she was asleep, it was before 11 and oh God, if he woke her his head would be on the chopping board! Running back to his apartment he slammed the door shut behind him, breathing heavily.

'And Sheldon Cooper manages to escape, his throat still intact. Stealth mode was a roaring success!' Sheldon fist pumped the air before going to his room, getting out his manuscript paper and sitting at his keyboard. He decided to compose a piece for Penny so at the top of the paper, he wrote in his elegant calligraphic writing "Penny's Song". He tried to think of an inspirational memory that he could use to write to but somehow his eidetic memory failed to come up with one until he saw an old picture of himself, Penny, Leonard, Raj and Wolowitz sitting on his windowsill. He picked up the picture and smiled and decided this was the memory to use. He thought back on the memory, letting it flow: it was before he had met Amy, before Howard had Bernadette, it was back when everyone was friends and there was no care in the world. He memorised Penny playing in the sandy beach; she wasn't wearing a sexy bikini but a white tank top and shorts and she and Leonard were laughing whilst playing in the sea. He removed Leonard from the picture and focused on Penny's face, her features, her smile, the way her hair blew in the wind and framed her face, the odd wisps of hair blowing into her mouth. Her eyes were sparkling with happiness as she played volleyball in the sea, and he could remember hearing her laughter ring through the air as she waved to him. As Sheldon pictured her beauty and carefreeness on that day, he felt his heart flutter slightly and his pulse speed up. Surely he wasn't sick, was he? Sheldon put the photo down and frowned… perhaps this rush of giddiness wasn't the result of a viral infection. Perhaps it was because the woman he had known and grown to care for for the past 6 years was having this impact on him? Amy had changed his perception on people and made him more open to the idea of intimacy and he was, in his own kind of weird way, grateful for that. Penny irritated him and drove him up the wall but he enjoyed it, the banter matches they had, and the connection they shared. Sheldon couldn't begin to imagine what his life would be like without Penny; it would be empty and lifeless… boring. She and him were polar opposites but were so much better matched in comparison to Penny and Leonard.

Sheldon scolded himself for a moment. He was in a relationship with a woman who he deeply cared for and that was who he would stay with; Penny would have to be his in his dreams. Amy was his girlfriend and he also didn't know what he would do without her. She was a great joy to have in his life so much so that he could tolerate her trying to push for more and more intimacy. He was so confused, he had feelings for both Amy and Penny but for now it was Penny on his mind. And with that… he began to compose.

**Hope you guys liked it :] If you want to listen to the piece of music I had Leonard listen to the link to add to the youtube website address is: [forward slash] watch?v=zRvhQ5Rf6-U It's a lovely piece of music and I could imagine Sheldon playing it to be honest. Now to find a piece of music that will fit the bill for Penny's song :D Let me know what you think of the chapter and I shall love you forever and keep the updates quick and swift xx**


	8. Chapter 8

'Alright Ames what's the problem with Sheldon?' Penny asked, sitting down on Amy's couch.

'I'm not sure whether or not I should continue my relationship with Sheldon.' Amy sighed and Penny suddenly became far more interested in the conversation. She knew she shouldn't be feeling like this but there was a sliver of hope in her that Amy did split with Sheldon. Penny had started to really warm to Sheldon and she had become aware that there was far more to him that meets the eye. The more she thought about, the further back she realised the attraction had started. There had always been something between them; it just had taken 6 years for it to flourish properly. Yes, he probably needed a bit of training and yes it was selfish of her but Penny wanted Sheldon for herself. She wanted to experience what it would be like; he in itself was an adventure. However, her friendship with Amy was of equal importance, so for now she would have to play her part as "bestie".

'Why, what's happened?' Penny asked, sitting up straight.

'Well, obviously he stayed over and…'

'Did anything happen?' Penny enquired, crossing her fingers with hope and squashing the jealousy rising in her stomach.

'That's the thing. Nothing ever does happen! He wouldn't even kiss me. I just go back to when he was trying to prove a point and he kissed me on that train... he made me feel like he truly wanted and loved me. He admitted he enjoyed it but for him to say that he only kissed me to prove a point just brought to light what his views on our relationship are. When he slept beside me, he was as ridged as a board and he stayed away from me, even whilst asleep. Then to add insult to injury, we had a conversation which resulted in my discovery of Sheldon's plans for the future and his feelings on me.'

'And?' Penny was almost scared to ask. Amy sighed and blinked back tears.

'Sheldon has made it clear to me that… he has no plans for marriage or to have children with me within the next 10 years and that our relationship is one of the mind and that, although he cares deeply for me, he does not love me.'

'Wow, that must have hurt,' Penny bit her lip, 'Are you ok?'

'I'm alright, I just wish it were different, I wish I had a more caring boyfriend. He didn't even realise the impact his words had on me, which makes it 10 times worse. I thought I could handle Sheldon's personality but I can't, I really can't. I don't know how you keep him in check Penny, you should write a book.'

'Look, I know Sheldon can be difficult but you just have to hold out and believe me you've done an excellent job at handling his personality so far.'

'I'm not sure I can hold out another 10 years Penny, I want children, I want to get married. It's ok for you, you're only 25 but I am 29 this year and I don't want to be one of those old mothers. Not that there is anything wrong with them, but I am so ready to be a mom but alas, I'm still a virgin and I feel like I'm missing out.'

'Honey, sex isn't as great as it's made out to be, especially on your first time so don't make everything revolve around it. Sheldon will come round and I don't think it'll take 10 years for that. You've been going out for three years already and look how you've improved him. The Sheldon I met 6 years ago would never have even contemplated kissing a woman, or hugging. In fact you wouldn't have known him Amy. You've been a good influence on him and you've made him better.' Penny said softly. As much as she liked Sheldon, it was clear that Amy still had feelings for him and she knew that her friends' happiness was that above her own.

'I know that… but there's also the fact that in a moment of weakness last night, after Sheldon told me that he didn't love me, I texted Burt.'

'The guy who asked you out the other week to that geography show?'

'Geology actually, its so cute when you try,' Amy chuckled sadly, 'Anyway, I asked him if he wanted to go for lunch sometime. He responded this morning saying he'd love too and it would be his treat to me.' Amy ran her fingers through her hair and sighed. 'I don't know if I should text back and say no but I'd feel so bad.'

'Well just cause you two are going out for lunch doesn't mean it's a date… have you texted him back yet?'

'No not yet, I didn't know what to say.'

'Well if you don't want it to be a date just tell him and say that he can pay for your coffee.'

'But I don't know if I don't want it to be a date.'

'Sweetie, either it's a date or not, you have to make that decision.'

'I can't cheat on Sheldon, I really care for him but he cannot give me what I want. He seems to be more into you that I.' Amy put her head in her hands and Penny cocked her head to the side in interest.

'Really? What makes you say that?' she asked and Amy sighed.

'It's just a vibe I get. He's always far more concerned about you than he is with me, he was asking about how you were last night and I could tell he preferred sleeping next to you as opposed to me. He didn't want to cuddle at all but he will gladly hug you.'

'Amy…'

'You're beautiful Penny and Sheldon is a male so of course he'll be attracted to you.'

Penny put a hand on Amy's arm. 'Sheldon is also from a different planet sweetie. He doesn't care for looks; you and I both know that. He's with you because he cares about you and I don't know what he would do if you left his life. Hopefully it won't be a repeat of last time because having 20 cats and naming the after dead people is not healthy.'

'Terminating our relationship wouldn't remove me from his life; I suspect we would go back to being friends since there isn't much intimacy there now.'

'That's true, but what you have at the moment Sheldon considers extremely intimate so it may take time before you were fully functional friends again. If you are to dump Sheldon, you have to do it gently so he won't go all psyco. What I suggest is go on a date with Burt, see what he's like and how he compares to Sheldon. You going out on a lunch date with him doesn't count as cheating, so long as you don't kiss him or do any romantic interatictions. If you find that you enjoy his company and conversation better than Sheldon's then you have your answer or if that isn't to your liking, you could go for plan B.'

'What's plan B?'

'Couples therapy… but you may be there for a LONG time trying to figure out where to even start with Sheldon's brain.'

'Well option A it is then. Thankyou Penny, I really don't know what I'd do without you.' Amy smiled and they hugged one another, 'I will definitely be naming my first baby girl after you and hopefully she will grow up to be as beautiful as you.'

'Awww thank you Amy, that's so sweet.'

The two young women then spent the rest of the morning and early afternoon having girly chats, watching movies and painting their nails.

* * *

Sheldon hadn't eaten nor drunk since he had left Amy's apartment this morning as he had been too busy trying to finish this piece of music for Penny. He didn't know why he felt this urge to finish a draft of a melody so quickly but for some reason he did. It was now 4.27pm and he looked at the notes on the manuscript paper, realising that he was looking a finished piece of work. He could tweak it later but right now it was time for him to play it from start to finish. He stretched his back and placed his long fingers on the keys of the piano, unaware that Penny had walked through the front door, calling out his name.

'Sheldon? Are you home?' Penny called, holding a Starbucks coffee in her hand. When she heard the tune of a piano start, she could have sworn she was hearing things but upon inspection, she found herself at Sheldon Cooper's bedroom door, listening to a beautiful melody. She opened it slightly and stuck her head in to watch him play. Sure enough, there he was in front of his piano, deep in concentration as he played the music. She watched his fingers dance across the keys before looking at his profile, his eyes seemed so focused, his brow was furrowed in concentration and as he played she relaxed into the wall. However, Penny had relaxed a little too much because she soon found her face in contact with the floor and her ears listening to a shrieking Sheldon.

'Penny! What are you doing in my bedroom! How many times have I told you? You can't be in my bedroom.'

'Your front door was unlocked so I came in to see if you were in and I heard you playing this amazing melody and I was just listening. I didn't know you played the piano so well, I've only seen you play drunk...Did you compose this yourself?'

'Um… yes and I was only drunk bcause you drugged my virgin Cubre Libre with Rum.' Sheldon said nervously and totally out of character. Penny was a little surprised he wasn't freaking out more or telling her off. To hear Sheldon Cooper nervous was a new one for her.

'What's it called?' she asked.

'Well um, it's actually a song for you so I guess it's called "Penny's Song".'

Penny was shocked and she sat on his bed and looked at him in astonishment as Sheldon blushed, 'For me? You really wrote a song for me?' she whispered and she looked at him properly. There was something different about him, almost more human. He was different somehow when playing his music and she liked it.

'Yes, I saw this picture of us when we were all single, happy and friends with each other and the memory of you in the playing in water inspired me to write this song.'

'Oh Sheldon, I think that is the most unintentional romantic thing anyone has ever done for me.' Penny put a hand on her heart and smiled before getting up and hugging him. To her utter shock, he returned her hug. It was a very cautious hug but it was a hug none the less.

'You didn't get to hear all of it though, would you like me to play it for you?'

'Oh please do.' Penny smiled and she whipped out her iPhone so she could record the sound and make Sheldon's ringtone that melody. Sheldon took his seat at the piano and placed his fingers on the keys.

'It's only the first final draft. I will still make some modifications; I've been working on it all day.' Sheldon said before proceeding to play the melody to Penny. Penny sat there, listening to the song. There were so many different elements to it; at first it would appear to be a sad song but as she listened to it more, it revealed itself to be along the lines of a longing melody which had a happy ending. Was Amy right, could Sheldon really care about her more than she had anticipated? 'So was it satisfactory?'

'Sheldon… it was beautiful. I don't think you should make any changes to it at all, I love it just the way it is. I never took you for a sensitive person.'

'I can be sensitive when I want. I just choose not to be, it's a very simple fact. I'm glad it was to your liking. I only used the best notes.' Sheldon explained and Penny blushed. Sheldon managed to say such sweet things without meaning to.

'Thank you Sheldon, it means a lot to me.' Penny got up and walked over to him before bending down and kissing his cheek. Sheldon tensed slightly before realising that once again, he had enjoyed it. When kissing Amy's cheek earlier, it had been awkward with both him giving and her receiving it but with Penny… everything just fell into place. 'Right, well I guess I'd best be off, I'll see you later Sheldon.'

'Penny?' he said, standing up from the piano stool.

'Yes Sheldon?'

'WouldyouliketogoandeatChinesefoodwithme?'

Penny blinked, 'In English please, oh and a little slower.'

'Would you like to accompany me to a Chinese restaurant to consume their cuisine?'

'Are you asking me out to dinner?'

'Well it doesn't have to be dinner. It could be supper or lunch or…'

'Yes. I'd love to come with you.' Penny smiled.

'Should I invite Wolowitz, Bernadette, Amy and Raj?' Sheldon asked and Penny decided that for once she would be selfish and have Sheldon to herself.

'No, you and I don't hang out often enough on our own, let's just make it us.'

'Would that qualify as a date? Any unfaithfulness nullifies the relationship agreement I have with Amy and I couldn't have that.'

'No, you couldn't,' Penny whispered softly, looking into his eyes. Somehow during their conversation, they're bodies had moved so that they were far closer in proximity to each other. Penny felt her breath catch in her throat as she looked up at him, truly taking in just how tall he was. It made such a difference to be next to a tall man like Sheldon as opposed to a small man like Leonard. 'Just be ready to go by 7 Sheldon,' she smiled and he looked down at Penny, taking in her green apple scent and her beautiful golden locks, and returning her smile.

'OK, just make sure that you are ready on time, else I shall go without you.' He said seriously and Penny chuckled.

'Alright, see you later handsome,' Penny winked before leaving the apartment. When she returned to her own, she let out the breath she had been holding. She actually had a date with Sheldon, OK he didn't think it was a date but she was taking it as one and she couldn't wait!

**Starting to turn up the heat with Shenny, I know he's probably a bit out of character at the end bit but it'll do for now ^^ tune in for the next chapter soon and make me smile by letting me know your thoughts :] Its been made known to me that the links I've provided in the body of text cant be replicated, so I have moved them to my profile where they can be easily copied and pasted. Hope it helps, so thanks to LewStonewar for pointing that to me xx**


	9. Chapter 9

Penny opened her wardrobe and pulled out every item of clothing she had. For her first date with Sheldon she had to be perfection. Beautiful but not overdressed, casual but not too casual and of course, like every other woman going out on a first date, she had nothing to wear. She didn't have enough time to go shopping so there had to be something! After many different outfit changes, she finally settled on cropped blue boyfriend jeans that had rolled up cuffs, a plain navy tank top and a navy blazer. She adorned it with a (fake) pearl necklace and her lucky shark tooth necklace before slipping into a pain of silver heels. Looking at herself in the mirror she smiled, she looked quite nice – the layered necklaces and heels added a flirty touch to albeit casual look. When with Leonard, she usually just wore the first thing she picked out of the closet because she knew he would be wanting sex regardless of what she wore. After quickly slapping on a bit of makeup and running a comb through her blonde hair, she was ready.

'Oh wait,' she said to herself and she picked up her bottle of Lady Million perfume and sprayed a bit on. Lady Million was her scent and she only wore it on special occasions because, to a struggling actress working as a waitress, she didn't exactly have stashes of cash to spend on luxuries like expensive perfumes. Looking at the clock she realised she was actually ready on time; in fact she was ready a whole 5 minutes early! Sitting down with a glass of wine to calm her jitters it wasn't long before there was a familiar knocking on the door.

_Knock knock knock_

'Penny.'

_Knock knock knock_

'Penny.'

_Knock knock knock_

'Penny.'

Smiling to herself, she opened the door and gave Sheldon a smile. He was wearing the black blazer she had bought him for his award ceremony, black trousers and his flash t-shirt and was looking extremely handsome, despite the wardrobe malfunction.

'Hey Sheldon,' she said happily and he raised his eyebrows in shock.

'It seems you have rendered me speechless Penny,' Sheldon said softly and Penny blushed. He had noticed her outfit, gosh she was so pleased he had, 'you are actually ready on time!' he added, souring her good mood so that she shot him a dirty look.

'Gee, thanks Sheldon,' she sighed and she reached for her bag, 'Let's go then.' She shut the door, walked past Sheldon and began to head down the stairs, feeling a little upset. Her "date" hadn't even started and he had already insulted her.

'Penny?' Sheldon said, catching up to her on the stairs and stopping her, placing his hand on her wrist and letting it linger there as he pulled her closer to him. Eventually he did let go and Penny couldn't help but notice her skin was tingling from his touch.

'What?' she said, trying to avoid looking at him.

'Have I said something to upset you?' he asked softly. Penny gave up resisting and looked in eyes to see that he actually hadn't understood what he had said hurt her, nor had he meant to. To be honest, she should have known better than to think he actually cared for her as more than a friend, that he would see her and be dazzled by her looks. To be honest, she didn't think he knew what good looking was. And there was also the fact that he was in a relationship with Amy and there was no way he would ever leave her; if their relationship ended, it would be because Amy would initiated it.

'No, not at all,' Penny lied, smiling at him.

'Penny, I know this is difficult to hear but at the moment you aren't being a very good actress. Should I hug you? Or perhaps get you a hot beverage? There's still time for it' Sheldon said and at this Penny sighed, knowing she was beat.

'OK, fine, you want to know what's wrong. I get ready on time for you and dress really nicely so we can go out and all you say to me is that you are shocked that I'm ready to go out on time. You could have said, "Hey Penny you look nice, are you ready to go?" but no… you had to go and Sheldonise it.'

'But you always look beautiful, how is offering you that compliment going to better your day?'

Penny suddenly forgot why she was upset at Sheldon. No man had ever called her beautiful before, especially with such sincerity. She was usually referred to as the hot blonde by men; even Leonard had never called her beautiful. 'You think I'm beautiful?' she whispered.

'Yes, don't you?' he asked, again not realising the impact of his words on Penny.

'Well I've been called hot before, but no man has ever called me beautiful.'

'Really? Hmm… how strange, one would think that with looks like yours and the number of men that I've seen trail in and out of this apartment, at least one of them would have called you beautiful. Did Leonard not say it to you?'

'No, I've always been known as "the hot girl", even with Leonard I was just hot to him.'

'Well, I must say I am surprised, and that doesn't happen very often Penny since I know just about everything. Men should tell you that you are beautiful because you truly are, inside and out.'

'Thank you Sheldon, that means a lot coming from you.' Penny blushed.

'Now, can we get Chinese food?' Sheldon whined causing to Penny smile further. Perhaps she had overreacted… Sheldon wouldn't have noticed what she was wearing, even if it was her birthday suit. That was just him. He didn't care what she wore, he already knew she was beautiful and her hair, makeup and clothes wouldn't change his verdict.

'Yes, we can get Chinese food.' Penny took Sheldon's hand and led him down to stairs.

'Penny, I'm still not sure I am comfortable holding your hand, it's ever so unhygienic.'

'Oh shut up Sheldon, it's just me holding your hand. I washed them and everything.' Penny laughed as they went down each flight of stairs.

'With antibacterial soap?'

'Twice, with Aloe Vera and lemon so it's taking care of my skin and it smells good.'

'…. Good, I suppose I can let you hold my hand then,' Sheldon said, gripping her small hand a bit tighter, 'Perhaps you could tell this to Amy? She is always after holding my hand but it just doesn't feel right. I seem to find myself enjoying holding hands with you so perhaps if Amy learns the proper techniques I can let her do the same.' Sheldon said. Penny smiled as she opened the front door to the apartment building.

'Alright Sheldon, I'll pass on the message to her,' she chuckled and together they walked towards the Chinese restaurant hand in hand, 'So err, I didn't think I'd be asking this but how is Leonard?'

'He's as can be. He's been trying to win you back but I told him straight he wasn't worthy of your love. I went all Jean-Luc Picard on his ass and put him back in his place.' Sheldon smiled and Penny clasped Sheldon's hand tighter and held onto his arm as they walked.

'Who?'

'Captain Jean-Luc Picard?' Sheldon sighed with annoyance, 'Picard was the captain of the Federation Starship Enterprise in Star Trek: The Next Generation. He is often described as being disciplined, intelligent, logical and articulate; he brings out the best of his crew and respects others which in turn gains either their respect.'

'Right, and you think you are like this Picard guy?' Penny asked, biting her lip whilst trying not to laugh.

'Of course, I am extremely intelligent and logical and I am the meshy glue that sticks everybody together. Just admit it… you'd all be lost without me.'

'Well we did theorise what it would be like if we hadn't met you. None of us would have ever met Amy, I wouldn't have met Leonard, which is probably the only good thing at the moment and Bernadette wouldn't have met Howard.'

'Hmmm a plausible theory, however you would still live across the hall from me and would therefore have eventually gotten to know me.'

'Well Amy came up with a lovely theory for us,' Penny blushed, tucking a strand of blonde hair behind her ear.

'What was that dare I ask?'

'She said I would try to seduce you whilst you were doing laundry on Saturday because…'

'But Saturday is Laundry night… everyone knows that, I wouldn't have time for your seduction attempts.' Sheldon interrupted and Penny shook her head with a smile.

'Yes, Saturday is laundry night. Either way, long story short it ended up me stripping me of my clothes in attempt for you to have sex with me on the washing machine.' Penny laughed, almost wishing she could.

'Do you know, I truly believe that Amy's libido is out of control… as if _that_ would _ever_ happen,' Sheldon shook his head as he opened the door to the Chinese restaurant. Sadly for Penny, she had to let go of his arm in order to get inside, 'Right, let me get us a table. I've been refining my mandarin and I believe it's now in top condition for them to understand me,' Penny placed her hand on her face, predicting disaster as she watched Sheldon walk up to the host and start speaking Mandarin, '_My cookie drowned, how long will it take for my birds to grow?'_

Penny watched the host's face grow in confusion before he replied in mandarin, '_The fortune cookies are prewrapped sir and we don't sell birds here, eat in or take out_ _please?_'

Sheldon sighed and turned to Penny, 'You cannot get the staff these days… it's like talking to someone with the intellectual capacity of a parsnip… he asked did I want to eat in or take out when I asked for a table for two!' Sheldon turned back to the man, '_Yes sir, my cookie drowned, do you need plastic paper for dinner?'_

'Sir, we'd like to eat in and have a table for two please,' Penny cut in before the host could respond to Sheldon's poor language skills. The host nodded, grabbed two menus and seated them at a booth at the far end of the restaurant.

'You know, this is kind of quaint,' Penny smiled, opening her menu.

'Yes, well we are in a candlelit booth at the back of the restaurant away from other people.' Sheldon said and he looked at the woman sitting opposite him. The candlelight illuminated her features and her smile captivated him, especially when he saw that her eyes were twinkling again. 'Penny, may I ask you something?'

'Sure, go ahead Sheldon.'

'Well earlier, you asked me how Leonard was doing. I should have asked you how you are doing,' Sheldon said, taking a sip of his water that the waitress had just poured him.

'Well, I know it's only been two days since I found him cheating but it feels like it's been much longer than that. Yes, I'm still hurting but I know I am better off without him, we've had our argument and I've made it clear that I don't want him back. I'm ready to move on and find a guy who like you said, loves and cherishes me.' Penny smiled, taking a sip of wine. 'I feel like I should still be heartbroken, drowning my sorrows in alcohol but I don't think I truly loved Leonard like I thought I did. It's been far easier to get over him than I had thought because I realised that there was someone else… someone who's been there far more for me than Leonard, I just didn't realise it until now.'

'I'm glad to hear that Penny. Though, I must ask do I qualify as a player now? You know, since I have a girlfriend and I am taking you out for dinner.'

'Sweetie, you are the furthest thing from a player. Even Leonard isn't a player.' She laughed and scooted over next to Sheldon.

'Penny…' Sheldon said quietly.

'Yes Sheldon,' she replied, just as quietly.

'I find myself troubled.'

'Troubled?'

'Yes I…'

'You ready to order?' a new voice came, frightening the living daylights out of both Sheldon and Penny.

'Er, no give us another minute,' Penny said quickly before returning back to Sheldon, 'Go on Sheldon.'

'It doesn't matter…'

'Sheldon, just tell me.'

Sheldon sighed, debating whether or not it was a good idea to tell Penny but he had started now, there was now turning back. Swallowing his doubts, he looked at Penny. 'Penny, I find myself troubled because whilst I know that I have Amy, I cannot help but harbour feelings for you too. When we first met, I tried to woo you; however Leonard was far more determined to obtain your affections and it seemed that you were more attracted to him than I, so I backed off. I have admired you from afar but only since this whole fiasco with Leonard and Priya have these feelings become stronger. I have tried to embrace the Vulcan way of life by controlling my emotions but the more I try, the more I think about you. If I was a jedi knight, I would feel that the force is most definitely unbalanced, I cannot make heads or tails of this.'

Penny was shocked, she never thought he could return her feelings let alone tell her straight out like this. 'Sheldon…' she started.

'There's more too… Penny… I know you feel the same about me.'

'What… how?' she whispered, shocked. Sheldon swallowed as he decided to put aside the awkward geek for these next 5 minutes and unleash the personality he only lets out around his music. Imagining Penny as his music was the trick to this and it succeeded, he was overcome with confidence and taking Penny's wrist in his hand, he leant in close to her ear.

'Because I took your pulse…' He whispered and Penny gasped pulling away slightly, but their faces still remained extremely close to each other. She went through the past two days in her mind… slowly realising that every touch they had had had been when her heart rate had soared because she was with him, thinking about him, wanting him, touching him. Him holding her hands, taking her wrist, hugging her… he knew that she liked him; he had figured it out himself. She couldn't help but find that his voice extremely sexy as he continued, ' Your heatrate is elevated, your pupils dilate when you look to me…' Penny found that she was feeling very aroused and hot. In a matter of two minutes, Sheldon had managed to make her feel as if they had had a very passionate romp session, yet he had barely touched her. No man had ever had this effect on her. Sheldon pulled away and looked at her more seriously, 'I imagine a lot of people think that love and romance is a mystery to me but the chemistry is incredibly simple and yet it can be very destructive. Although I have not experienced love, what I feel for you Penny is extremely strong, possibly stronger than what I feel for Amy.'

'Sheldon… I don't know what to say or do. Amy is my friend and I don't deny that I too do return your affections. It happened so gradually, that I think it started way before I even realised it.'

'And there you see my predicament and why I am troubled.' Sheldon said, slipping back into his old geeky self.

'Well, you have to do what you think is best and I guess you have to make a choice between myself and Amy. Perhaps speak to her about your newfound feelings for me and see what she says?'

'I think I shall, I need time to think about everything, discover the logic behind everything. Thank you for listening,' Sheldon smiled and he smiled at her. He was quite shocked at himself, at how he had completely changed his character. Perhaps he was more human and less Homo Novus than he thought. It felt good that he had let Penny know his feelings, it was like a heavy weight had been lifted from his chest. His Meemaw had always told him to tell people of his problems in order to feel better, Meemaw always knew best.

'Sheldon? Penny? What are you doing here?'

Both Sheldon and Penny turned around to see Amy standing there with Burt and a waitress.

'Amy!'

**Hope that you enjoyed this chapter… I had a massive writers block with this, so its taken me three days to write hence the delay! And it's the longest chapter so far so hopefully that makes up for it. I hope Sheldon isn't too OOC for you, I kind of like a more loose Sheldon as opposed to an uptight one; also took a bit of inspiration from the amazing Sherlock with this chapter. Also I'm not sure if Leonard has ever called Penny beautiful in TBBT series… if he has, he hasn't according to this story (if that makes sense) Thank you for your lovely reviews so far, keep them going and making me happy. Always wanting to know what you think :] xx **


	10. Chapter 10

'Penny, can I have a word?' Amy asked after telling Burt to sit with Sheldon. Penny got up and both women stepped into the restaurant's bathroom. 'What are you and Sheldon doing here? According to Sheldon's schedule, Friday is Chinese night not Sunday!'

'He asked if I wanted to go out for Chinese food cause we were both home alone and I said yes… what are you doing here? And with Burt! I swear you two were gonna go out for lunch!'

'Well, you said to go on a date with him so I changed it to dinner as opposed to lunch and I suggested this place to Burt because it's a nice restaurant.' Amy sighed, 'damn, what should we do?'

'I don't know. Sheldon has seen you now… I can't just take him away.'

'What if you tell him you think you should go somewhere new.'

'Amy, he's got an IQ of 187! He'll see past it, we'll just have to double up and pretend like we're all just friends.'

'Penny, this is supposed to be a date with Burt and it's supposed to be away from Sheldon so I can compare.'

'Well, why don't you and Burt go elsewhere?'

'But…'

_Knock knock knock_

'Penny and Amy'

_Knock knock knock_

'Penny and Amy'

_Knock knock knock_

'Penny and Amy'

Penny and Amy looked at each other and left the bathroom.

'Sheldon, you can't knock on the ladies restroom. That's totally inappropriate!' Amy hissed and Penny chuckled to herself behind at how stupid he could be despite his genius.

'I apologise. Penny, I wish to go elsewhere. This Burt guy just insulted me in Klingon.'

'Burt speaks Klingon?' Penny asked, baffled.

'No, but he translated what he wanted to say on Bing's new translator and showed it to me on his cell. Damn the internet making Klingon available for the idiots of this country to use!'

'Come on sweetie, let's go.' Penny giggled and she looked at Amy. Both women had been saved by Sheldon's wish to leave, so Amy went to sit with Burt whilst Penny and Sheldon began to walk to her car.

'So… what shall we do now? I was counting on having Chinese food' Sheldon asked.

'Well, why don't we go back to my place and I'll make spaghetti with hot dogs' Penny smiled as they both sat in the car.

'OK, but it better be as good as it was last time.' Sheldon said and he sighed when Penny's "check engine" light came on as she turned the ignition. 'You really need to get your car fixed, I don't really want this hunk of junk to be the death of me. If I am to die before my expiration date, I would want it to be at the hands of a light saber or if not that a nuclear explosion due to my findings going wrong, but seeing as the latter couldn't physicaly be possible, being killed by a light saber it is… image me making a miscalculation, ppft.' Sheldon wittered and Penny rolled her eyes.

'I know Sheldon, let's just get back to my place,' she sighed as she pulled out of the parking space.

The journey back to the apartment was quiet and Penny couldn't help but think of what had happened back at the restaurant. Sheldon had feelings for her… _Sheldon_ had feelings for _her_! Although thrilled at this new found revelation, she realised that, whilst it would be in her nature, it was not in Sheldon's to embark on an affair. Let alone with the boyfriend of one of her closest friends. Her only hope was that Amy's date with Burt went meticulously well so that she would leave Sheldon and in turn he would be free to give himself to her. That was the only way anything could ever progress between herself and Sheldon, she would have to wait and be patient.

Upon arrival at Penny's apartment, Penny took all out the necessary ingredients for their dinner and began cooking.

'Sheldon, I'm out of salt, could you pop over to yours and let me borrow some?'

'Penny, did you not think to go grocery shopping?'

'Well, I was a little preoccupied getting past Leonard cheating on me Sheldon, now march your butt over to your apartment and bring me some salt.' Penny ordered and Sheldon sighed, doing what he was told. 5 minutes later he was back and handing the salt over to Penny, 'See was that too hard?'

'No I guess not.' Sheldon said, sitting down on his spot in Penny's apartment and opening a comic book that he had grabbed whilst he was over at his place.

Penny placed the spaghetti in the boiling water and turned to see Sheldon chuckling at the comic book. 'You're reading a coming book.'

He looked up at her, licked his thumb and turned the page, moving his eyes back down towards the comic, 'And you are calling attention to your bosom by wearing a low cut top.'

Penny smirked at him. He'd been caught red handed by her unknowingly, 'Have you been staring at my chest Dr Cooper?'

'No, I just thought we were having a "State the Obvious" contest,' He said, not taking away his eyes from the comic and Penny rolled her eyes. She could see through his little lie, 'though since we are on the subject: your breasts are in fact a tad asymmetrical, however there's definitely nothing to be concerned about. They look fine to me.' Penny smiled… there it was. Little by little, Sheldon's red blooded male hormones were emerging and it only seemed to be happening around her. He wasn't like this with Amy; he had actually looked at her chest, evaluated and made a judgement on her breasts, a good judgement at that.

Penny tasted the sauce that was simmering on the hob and licked her lips afterwards. She really could be a good cook when she wanted to be because this tasted delicious! That salt did wonders obviously. The spaghetti was nearly done, so she set the table for herself and Sheldon, placing a candle in the middle and lighting it. She found adding a candle to a table always secured the element of romance between two people at a table.

'Sheldon, dinner's ready.' She smiled and Sheldon put his comic book down and took his seat at the table as she placed the meal before him. She took her seat and they both began to eat.

'Penny, I must compliment you on this… it truly is wonderful, mmm mmmm mmmm.' Sheldon praised, smiling at her.

'I'm glad you like it.'

'Leonard never cooks for me, so it's nice to have someone who does.'

'Well, I want you to know that you can come over any time you want and I'll cook for you.'

'Really? Wow, that's quite an offer.'

'Well, since we've both discovered that after 6 years of knowing each other and having repressed feelings for one another, I think we should explore it and make time for each other. I know that I've come to enjoy your company and I want to spend more time with you and I hope you want to do the same with me.' Penny reached out and placed her hand on his, gazing into his eyes. To her astonishment, he pulled away from her as quickly as one would if they had been stung by a hornet and were reacting to the pain.

'Penny, as much as I would like to accept your offer; I am still with Amy and whilst I have a relationship contract with her, I cannot engage in such intimate actions like this.' He said, rendering her speechless, 'I shall bid you goodnight Penny and I shall see you tomorrow.' Sheldon said quickly before rushing out her apartment.

Penny couldn't quite wrap her finger around it. An hour and a half ago, he was telling her that he liked her as well as he did Amy, if not more. An hour and a half ago, he was whispering in her ear, making her shiver and goosebumps form on her arms, her hair standing up on edge. He had let her hold his hand, she had cooked him a romantic meal and now he just ran away. Frowning, she racked her brain, trying to come up with an answer as to why he had acted so strangely. Perhaps she had enforced too much romance on him for one day and expected too much from him, or maybe it was the stress of Amy showing up whilst they were having a heated moment in the restaurant had rattled him and his confidence.

She knew now that she would have to take things extremely slow if she wanted to have a relationship with Sheldon. It would be like walking on eggshells or in a minefield, he was a flight risk and for the first time since she had realised her feelings for Sheldon, she understood that it wasn't necessarily a good thing for her to feel this way about him.

**Heya guys, sorry for the delay in the update. Been busy the past few days and haven't had time to write. I want to thank you for my lovely reviews, nearly at 100! Yay! You guys are so awesome and I value your comments, they make me write better and motivate me! So as a treat my 100****th**** registered reviewer will be getting an inbox from me and will be able to come up with a story line that I will integrate into the story! Also on Bing there is actually a Klingon language translator haha it's perfectly legit! Anyway, let me know what you guys think of the chapter and I will try to update asap! xx**


	11. Chapter 11

Penny knew Sheldon was avoiding her. It had been three days since he had eaten at her apartment and he hadn't spoken to her once, nor had he been at the Cheesecake Factory. It felt like she had just moved into the apartment and she knew no body in the building. Switching on the TV and eating out of the tub of ice cream, she let her feelings be drowned out by the distraction of the horror movie that was on.

'No, don't do that! If you go in the bathroom you'll be killed! Don't go in there you idiot!' She yelled at her TV but as predicted the girl on the tv went into the bathroom and screamed as the masked figure jumped out with a chainsaw.

_Knock knock knock_

'AHHHH!' Penny screamed at precisely the same time the character on the television did, however the tv character ended up being sawed to death, her body landing in the bathtub. Her heart pounding and her hands trembling, she turned off the movie and opened the door to the apartment to see Amy and Bernadette standing in her doorway.

'Hi bestie,' Amy smiled and Penny smiled. In truth she had been hoping to hear "Penny" come after those three knocks.

'Heya.'

'We heard screaming, are you ok?'

'Yes, I was just watching a horror movie alone and you knocked on the door in the height of suspense and scared the life out of me. Come in, come in,' Penny stepped aside to let Amy and Bernadette walk in. Penny picked up her ice cream, sat down and began to eat it again.

'So we haven't heard from you in a couple of days so we came to check if you were ok,' Bernadette said softly in her high squeaky voice and Penny shrugged.

'I've been busy I guess and I just wanted some alone time to you know, indulge myself in ice cream and stuff that makes me feel good. Leonard cheated on me and I will never forgive him for it. Knowing that every night he comes home and sleeps less than 50 meters away from me just bums me out.' Penny half lied. She had wanted to be alone, but the real truth was that it wasn't because of Leonard. She no longer cared what Leonard did, as far as she was concerned his existence wasn't valid to her. She sought solace because she was still upset over Sheldon's reactions. It was Wednesday today and tonight was Halo Night and/or a trip to the comic book store night, so it meant all 4 boys would be over.

'You know, you can talk to us Penny… we don't bite,' Amy smiled, sitting beside Penny. Penny hugged her friend and smiled.

'Thank you Ames.'

'I'll put the kettle on,' Bernadette said, going over to the kitchenette.

'So I suppose I should ask the big question, how is it going with Burt?'

'It's actually going really well. He doesn't belittle my work, he actually takes an interest in it and he told me the reason as to why he insulted Sheldon in Klingon, actually I would hardly say it was insulting.'

'Really now? What was it?'

'Whilst we were in the bathroom, they were talking about Star Trek and they got into a tiff about who was a bigger fan. Sheldon said only true fans could speak Klingon and then apparently they had a Klingoff.'

'A Klingoff?'

'It's like a playoff… but with Klingon,' Amy sighed and Penny shook her head.

'Wow you really know how to choose them…' she muttered.

'Do you want sugar in your tea Penny?' Bernadette called.

'Two please.'

'Amy, what about you?'

'None for me thanks Bernadette, I'm sweet enough,' Amy laughed, turning her attention back to Penny, 'Anyway, I have come to my decision about my predicament with Sheldon.'

'Oh?'

'It's over between us. I mean, Sheldon didn't even care I was with another man when we saw each other on Sunday. Sheldon won't marry me, nor will he have children with me through coital relations. We're better off as friends I think. He can't give me what I want but Burt… he's sweet and he's funny, he holds my hand willingly, he doesn't care what we eat or where we go, he drives and he's taken me out every evening since Sunday… I think I'll be happier with him.'

'I'm happy for you Amy, truly I am,' Penny hugged her friend again.

'Now to break it off with Sheldon,' Amy smiled and Penny nodded.

'When will you do it?'

'I was going to do it now, because at least if it does cause him pain he can come to you and cry.'

'Sheldon. Cry? I highly doubt that Ames.' Penny laughed as she accepted the tea Bernadette handed her.

'He might, you never know.' Bernadette smiled, 'I'm not sure Sheldon knows the meaning of romance to be honest.'

'Actually I think that people assume it's a mystery to him but secretly he knows that its chemistry is in fact very simple, yet also very destructive. I'll bet he can be extremely romantic when he wants to be,' Penny said, mimicking what Sheldon had said to her back at the restaurant, 'He's clever, handsome, kind, caring but he just doesn't like to show it! And I hate it when people judge him like that!' There was a little bitterness added to her tone of voice and both Amy and Bernadette picked up on this and looked at each other. Amy decided not to say anything but stood up instead.

'I'm going to go over there now, I'll be back in a bit,' Amy said before exiting the apartment.

'Alright Penny, tell me the truth… now.' Bernadette said softly.

'What are you on about?' Penny laughed nervously, only to be met with a raised eyebrow from Bernadette.

'Do you have feelings for Sheldon?'

'What? No!' Penny cried and Bernadette raised her eyebrow again and looked at her in disbelief.

'Penny…'

'OK fine, I confess... I like him, I like him a lot.' Penny sighed, 'and he likes me too, he said so himself on Sunday. I don't know if I did something wrong but I tried to reach out to him on an emotional level, saying I wanted to spend more time with him and he just clamped up and ran. He's been avoiding me since. I don't want to go over there for the fear of bumping into Leonard and also I don't want to push him into something where he'll be uncomfortable.'

'Do you think you'll get together after he and Amy split?'

'I don't know… I've been contemplating the idea of a relationship with him but we're so different. I don't know if we'd work, plus Amy is one of my closest friends, Leonard and Sheldon live together… would it work?'

'Well, you just have to try. If you don't take the risk, you'll never know and it might be something you end up regretting for the rest of your life.'

* * *

Amy opened the door to apartment 4A, walking in on the guys playing Halo.

'I can't even imagine the backwards logic you used to rationalise shooting that corpse… he was already dead!' Leonard said, swigging beer from a bottle. Sheldon scoffed, shooting more enemies

'Well if I'd shot a live person and they happened to be on our team, there'd be a lot more paperwork.' He said.

She still couldn't see how they were all still friends with Leonard seeing as to what he had done to Penny, however they were men. They were from another planet and to be honest, she wasn't sure she even wanted to know, especially when it came to walking in on a random mid conversation.

'Sheldon? May I speak with you?' Amy asked.

'One minute Amy, let me finish this level—AHHH come on! Die!' Sheldon screamed at the television, 'Oh yes! Told you I'd win… cough up the cash Wolowitz! I am an ace at Halo.' Sheldon stated smugly and held his hand out as Wolowitz reluctantly forked out a 20 dollar bill from his pocket and handed it over.

'Your smugness is such an attractive quality Sheldon.' Howard said, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

'Thank you; it was either that or getting my hair highlighted. I find that smugness is easier to maintain.' Sheldon pocketed the money and gave his koala face.

'I was being sarcastic Sheldon.' Wolowitz rolled his eyes and Amy followed suit.

'Sheldon, can I have that word now… in private'.

Sheldon sighed and put the console controllers down, 'Alright,' he said and they both made their way to his room.

'Sheldon, I'm not going to beat about the bush. I wish to terminate the relationship agreement.'

'You do?' Sheldon asked, finding himself a little surprised but not dismayed.

'Yes, I think we have drifted apart these last few months and I have met someone else that I wish to embark on a romantic relationship with. I hope we can remain friends.'

'Ofcourse, I wish you well Amy. Though, let me find the relationship agreement so we can both sign it. That way we acknowledge that we are no longer in an intimate relationship.' Sheldon said, getting up and bringing out the relationship agreement.

'You're taking this extremely well,' Amy said and Sheldon shrugged.

'Upon reflection on recent events, I know and understand that I cannot give you what you want. Thus this makes your decision perfectly viable and I agree with you. I also must confess that I too have found someone I wish to try connecting with on a romantic level. Therefore it seems logical that we end our understanding of one another,' Sheldon said, laying out the document on his bedside table. Both of them signed it and Amy smiled at her former boyfriend turned friend.

'I'm happy we can remain friends,' Amy smiled and Sheldon nodded.

'Indeed. Good luck with this man you wish to date, Amy. He's very lucky to have someone like you,' Sheldon said softly. Amy grinned at Sheldon as she opened his bedroom door.

'Thank you Sheldon,' she smiled and as Sheldon turned around to file the document away, she chuckled to herself, 'oh and Sheldon?'

'Yes?' he looked around to look at her.

'Good luck with Penny.'

**Awww so Amy figured it out :] Well 11 chapters in and Amy and Sheldon have finally split amicably in order to make room for some Shenny! Thank you so much for your reviews, we've made it past 100, let's keep it going! Next Chapter should be up tomorrow hopefully, just got to make some tweaks to it. Thanks for reading and let me know what you think! xx**


	12. Chapter 12

Sheldon lay awake in bed. He knew he had to be at work in the morning but he couldn't shake the thought of Penny out of his mind. Amy had guessed it was Penny and had given her blessing for him to be with her. However, he recalled how he had just run out on Penny with no explanation. The clock read 3am and he sighed to himself. Again, Penny had managed to be an inconvenience to him without deliberately doing anything. He threw back the covers, put his slippers on and made his way over to apartment 4B. To his surprise, the light was on and he frowned, wondering what on earth Penny would be doing up at this time of night.

_Knock knock knock_

'Penny?'

_Knock knock knock_

'Penny?'

_Knock knock knock_

'Penny?'

There was a slight delay before the door opened to reveal Penny in her silk nightie.

'Sheldon? What are you doing here at 3am?'

'I needed to talk to you and I saw your light on.' Sheldon whispered, letting himself in. He saw that the light he saw was coming from the kitchenette and that there was a glass of water with two white pills next to it on the counter.

'Are you taking drugs?' Sheldon asked, staring at Penny.

'No, it's an anti-depressant, I was told to take two every time you walk through my door.' She said sarcastically.

'Really?'

'No Sheldon. I was being sarcastic. They are paracetamol tablets if you must know. I woke up with an awful headache,' Penny said before swallowing the two tablets. 'Now what do you want?'

'I came to apologise.'

'Have you now? That's big of you.'

'Ok, enough of the attitude Penny. I don't make apologies often.' Sheldon said sitting down in his spot and sighing, Penny nodded.

'You're right, I'm sorry.'

'I'm sorry for the way I reacted when you told me we should spend more time together. The reason I made a hasty retreat was because I was so comfortable being around you that it made me uncomfortable. Do you understand what I'm saying?'

'You were uncomfortable with the fact you enjoyed my company?'

'And it felt so right. I wanted to stay with you, I wanted to do things that never would have crossed my mind before and I guess I freaked out. Around you, I can be someone who is far more relaxed and doesn't stick to a structured schedule, someone who is normal and the idea of it scares me.' Penny softened as she took in his tone of voice, all her annoyance and resentment melting away.

'Well I accept your apology. It should have come sooner though and you shouldn't have avoided me for three days as well.' Penny yawned.

'I know, and I truly am sorry. So I've come to ask you if you would consider going on a date with me. Wining, dining, dancing, romancing, that sort of thing.' Sheldon asked and Penny gawked at him.

'You're asking me on a date at 3 o clock in the morning.'

'Yes. Is there something wrong with that?'

'No, but it's not the normal way of asking a girl out.'

'When have I ever been normal Penny?'

'That's very true… alright moon pie, I will go on a date with you.' She smiled.

'Great, I look forward to it,' Sheldon gazed at Penny with adoration.

'Though… shouldn't we run it by Amy?'

'Amy knows, she wished me luck with you and gave me her blessing,' Sheldon smiled and he slowly but surely leant forward and kissed Penny's cheek. 'Goodnight Penny.'

Penny found that that, after he had left, she was truly feeling on cloud 9. Everything she wanted was finally happening.

* * *

Leonard rolled off of Priya, breathing heavily.

'My God… sex with you is amazing! I think we christened those sheets and this bed rather nicely.' Leonard laughed before pressing a kiss to Priya's lips.

'Ditto,' Priya smiled. She wrapped herself in the sheets and walked into the kitchen of her new apartment. 'Do you want a glass of wine?'

'At 3 in the morning? I have to get back to the apartment so I can take Sheldon to work with me,' Leonard laughed picking up his shirt and putting it on.

'Forget about taking Sheldon to work baby,' Priya said crawling back onto the bed and kissing Leonard's neck, 'Stay with me and make love to me,' she whispered in his ear, pulling him back towards the bed.

'Priya… I… have… to go… back… I'll…. Come back… tonight…' Leonard said between kisses and he reluctantly pulled himself away from her naked body. He got dressed, said his goodbye's to a protesting Priya and made his way back to the apartment. When he arrived at 4A, he put his key in the lock and jumped out of his skin when Penny's door suddenly opened to reveal a smiling Sheldon. 'Sheldon?' Leonard gawked at his roommate.

'Leonard?' Sheldon asked, shocked as he shut the door behind him. 'What are you doing out here at this hour?'

'What about me? What about you!'

'I fell asleep at Penny's'

'In your pyjamas?'

'Went over for a nightcap...' Sheldon said snottily and Leonard rolled his eyes. 'Why are you home so late?'

'Oh I was out doing… stuff.' Leonard said awkwardly, and Sheldon sighed.

'No doubt you were having carnal relations with Priya… I'm right aren't I?'

Leonard just gave him a look. 'How is it you always assume you are always right?'

'I don't, I just find it hard to operate on the opposite assumption. Goodnight Leonard, see you in 3 hours.' Sheldon smiled smugly before retiring back to bed. Leonard just rubbed his eyes and decided to kip on the couch.

* * *

BEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEPP!

'AHHHHH!' Leonard screamed and he jumped so much to the extent that he actually fell off the couch. He propped himself up on all fours and looked up to see Sheldon standing over him with an air horn.

'Oh, I'm sorry, I thought it was air freshener,' Sheldon grinned devilishly before turning back into serious mode, 'it's 7.15 Leonard, you've had an extra hour sleep but we need to leave in 15 minutes!' Sheldon then began to make sure his bag was packed and Leonard threw mental curses at him, swearing as he went to pour himself some coffee and take a couple of caffeine pills.

Soon enough Leonard and Sheldon were on their way to Caltech and Leonard twitched.

'How is Penny?' Leonard asked and Sheldon smiled.

'She's doing well actually, really well.'

'She doesn't miss me at all does she?' Leonard sighed and Sheldon gave a snort of derision.

'Not at all Leonard, you can't cheat on a woman like Penny and expect her to come running back to you.'

'I still love her you know and the thought of her being with anyone else just riles me. I want Penny back.'

'Well she's not for you! Anyway what about Priya? Why don't you re forge your relationship with her? I mean you slept with her last night, you can't flick to and fro between these two women, it's not fair!' Sheldon cried, jealousy rising within him.

'Woah, what's got you so riled?'

'The way you treat Penny! She isn't a toy that you can pick up, play with and when you've had enough put down and play with something else. You can't expect her to be where you left her Leonard and I truly don't understand why you want her back, besides she's moved on!'

'She's moved on? To who?'

'It's not my place to tell you, but she's done with you Leonard and she's found someone who will look after her properly.'

An awkward silence fell across them and Leonard nodded.

'You're right Sheldon, I'm sorry. '

'I should hope so Leonard because I'm tired of telling you that you won't succeed in trying to win Penny back.'

Leonard pulled up into a car parking space and Sheldon immediate got out and left for his office, leaving Leonard alone with his thoughts.

**Thank you for your reviews so far, they really mean a lot to me! Next chapter will be up soon! xx**


	13. Chapter 13

Penny was excited. Sheldon was taking her out on their first real date and he wouldn't tell her where he was taking her. As soon as her shift finished at the cheesecake factory, she raced home to get ready. She put on a pale yellow chiffon skater dress and paired it with a pair of black high heeled ankle boots and a black leather jacket. She put a bit of makeup and waited for Sheldon to pick her up. For some reason, she had a massive sense of déjà vu and only hope that this date wouldn't end like it did last time.

At 7 o'clock sharp, Sheldon was at her door.

_Knock knock knock_

'Who do we love?' Penny cried.

'Penny.' Sheldon's voice sounded annoyed but she knew his OCD prevented him from putting up a fight and she giggled.

_Knock knock knock_

'Who do we love?'

'Penny.'

_Knock knock knock_

'Who do we love?'

'Penny.'

'Hello Sheldon,' Penny smiled opening the door to a surprise. Sheldon was dressed completely different than usual… in fact he looked as if he had been styled by a personal shopper. He was in black jeans, a grey and white chequered shirt with a thin black tie and black Vans. Instead of his usual old man jacket, he wore a high collared tailored black coat and Penny thought he looked extremely sexy, especially with his hair slightly ruffled.

'Sheldon, did you get a personal shopper to style you?' she asked, crossing her arms, raising her eyebrow and letting a smirk form across her face. Sheldon blushed and nodded.

'Well I wanted to look good for our first date.'

'Oh Sheldon, that's so sweet.'

'You look beautiful by the way.' Sheldon smiled and this time it was Penny's turn to blush.

'Thank you.' She said softly. Sheldon had learnt his lesson from last time. Compliment her on her looks instead of complimenting her on how she was ready on time. He wouldn't be making that mistake again. 'So where are we going?' Penny asked and Sheldon smiled.

'We are going to Lindy Groove.'

'What's that?'

'I don't know. Amy drove past it once with me in the car and the name intrigued me, so I figured we should go there.'

'But it could be a brothel or something.' Penny gasped and Sheldon shook his head.

'Please, Wolowitz knows of every brothel in Pasadena, don't you think that I already checked with him.' Sheldon said and Penny smiled.

'Alright, let's go.' She took his arm and he led her towards a waiting taxi.

When they arrived inside the building, both were hit with the sound of live music and people laughing. They placed their belongings and jackets in a locker and made their way towards the main hall.

'Wow Sheldon, its swing dancing.' Penny smiled gleefully and Sheldon looked at all the people dancing around.

'Is it adequate for you or do you wish to go elsewhere?' he asked and Penny shook her head.

'No, I want to stay here.' Penny grinned and so Sheldon handed over the $8 entry fee for each of them. Penny was fascinated to see all the people dancing and all the smiles and laughter that adorned people's faces. Suddenly the live band began to play the introduction to Cody Simpson's song "La Da Dee", which happened to be one of her favourite songs. 'I love this song!' she cried and Sheldon took a deep breath, grabbed her hand and pulled her to the dance floor.

Penny had never felt so elated before in her life and she couldn't stop laughing or smiling as Sheldon spun her around to the song. She remembered watching Sheldon's awkward dancing with Amy before but this was something else, Sheldon was almost normal. Sheldon spun her out before reeling her back in and Penny just felt the sparks and the butterflies in her stomach just fly.

'I had no idea you were such a good dancer.' Penny told him as spun her around.

'I have a confession,' Sheldon yelled over the music as he lifted her up.

'Oh?'

'I've been coming here for the past year. I saw swing dancing on a documentary and it was anything can happen Thursday so I decided to learn how to do it.'

'Oh wow Sheldon! I had no idea! That seems to explain a lot,' Penny cried as he set her down in front of him again.

'There are many things about Sheldon Lee Cooper you don't know.' He smiled, pulling her close.

'Sheldon, I'm having such a good time! Let's make this our song.' Penny laughed as the song came to an end, however she didn't move away from him.

'If you want it to be, I definitely enjoyed dancing to it with you.' Sheldon smiled. Penny gazed into his eyes and started to lean in for a kiss, but it was sod's law for her and a new song started, which gave Sheldon the opportunity to pull away and start a new dance with her. She was slightly disappointed that she didn't get to kiss Sheldon, but she decided not to push for anything. Things would happen in their own time and she was not one interfere with fate. The rest of the date went swimmingly well and Sheldon even carried her up the stairs because her feet hurt so much from dancing.

'Thank you for the great date Sheldon, I think we should do it again,' Penny smiled and Sheldon nodded.

'I agree… how about tomorrow?' Sheldon smiled and Penny nodded eagerly.

'Of course,' she kissed his cheek before bidding him goodnight. And with that they both entered their own apartments and retired to bed.

**I know its short guys but I wanted to concentrate just on their date, you know keep it short, sweet and simple. I hope you enjoyed it and let me know what you thought xx**


	14. Chapter 14

'We've gone out every night for the past week Amy and he still hasn't kissed me.' Penny sighed as she spoke to her friend over the phone.

'_Penny it took him a good three years before he even kissed me, you just have to give him time.'_

'He knows what I am like though, surely the thought should have crossed his mind. We always come so close to it on our dates and then bam he backs out last minute.' Penny sighed.

'_Give him time Penny, and if not just use Carpe Diem as your guide'_

'Carpe what now?'

'_Carpe Diem: It's Latin for seize the day. If you want to kiss him so bad… why don't you go and do it yourself?'_

'Ok, maybe I will, thanks Ames.' Penny smiled and hung up the phone. Slipping on a jacket, she left her apartment. Her destination: Sheldon Cooper's office, Caltech University. Her goal: to kiss her man.

* * *

'Cooper! You were supposed to be in my office twenty minutes ago!' Kripke yelled, storming into Sheldon's office.

'That's odd because I had no intention of being in your office 20 minutes ago,' Sheldon said, not bothering to look up from his paperwork.

'That's not good enough Cooper. If this continues I will have to weport you to Gabelhawser. He assigned us to work together and you awen't doing your job by sitting on your ass all day when you are supposed to be in my office showing me your wesearch!' Kripke yelled.

'Fine, I shall fax it over as soon as I can Kripke, now leave me alone. I need to work.' Sheldon said in a bored tone of voice. As Kripke left, Leonard entered, 'Shut up.'

'I didn't say anything.' Leonard said, looking confused.

'You were thinking, it's annoying and extremely distracting.' Sheldon sighed. 'What do you want?'

'It's vintage game night tonight. Since we haven't played for the last two weeks, I was wondering which game you wanted me to pick up from the store?'

'Leonard, I am extremely busy and I won't be playing tonight anyway, so pick up whatever you want.' Sheldon sighed, getting up and writing an equation on the board.

'What is with you lately, you seem to be changing. You aren't… Sheldon anymore.' Leonard said quizzically and with that he left.

10 minutes later the door banged open.

'Oh for God's sake!' Sheldon cried turning around to see Penny standing in his doorway and immediately his expression softened and a smile appeared on his face, 'Penny? What are you doing here?' he asked and she shut the door behind her, locking it.

'I thought I'd come and see the world's most brilliant physicist,' Penny smiled.

'Penny, I'm working…'

'Well, perhaps you can tell me what you're working on?' Penny asked, sitting down in Sheldon's seat. Sheldon looked at her and shrugged to himself. He saw no harm in it.

'Alright, well what I'm working on here is how to…' Penny tuned out his explanations on string theory.

'Ok, I have a question.' She quipped and Sheldon looked at her.

'Fire away,' Sheldon said, turning to face her fully.

'Um, were you planning on kissing me, um ever?' Penny asked and Sheldon looked at her initially with shock before swallowing.

'Er, that's definitely a er a valid question and the answer to that question is er yes,' Sheldon said nervously, writing YES on the white board as he spoke, 'Yes I was.' A smile erupted on Penny's face and she felt her heart race as Sheldon made his way closer to her. Penny puckered up slightly but found herself once again being faced with Sheldon's voice, 'But you see, I want it to be perfect. I want to give you a phenomenal kiss that you would remember because well it's you.'

'Oh Sheldon that's so sweet,' Penny gasped, smiling at him.

'See the problem is, the longer I wait, the more phenomenal the kiss I give you has to be.'

'Then don't wait.' Penny said huskily, however Sheldon didn't notice as he was too busy getting himself in one of his OCD frenzies.

'And now, it's gotten to a stage where I feel like I have to sweep everything off say, this desk and throw you down on it and I'm afraid I don't' think I'm a well sweeping sort of fella.' Sheldon said. Penny stood up and walked over to him.

'You know you overthink things way too much,' she said, wrapping her arms around his neck. Leaning in, she then gently kissed him on the lips. It felt nice kissing a tall guy again. Sheldon, to her surprise, melted into the kiss and pulled her closer, placing a hand on her waist and deepening the kiss.

'You know, for someone who hasn't kissed a lot of people, you sure are good.'

'Thank you.' Sheldon grinned and Penny laughed.

'Oh Sheldon,' She giggled, moving forward to kiss him again.

'Penny, as much as I enjoy your presence, I really do have a lot of work to do,' Sheldon smiled, releasing her from his grip.

'I know,' Penny sighed, 'I'll see you tonight.' She said softly, pressing another quick kiss on his lips.

'See you tonight Penny.' Sheldon smiled, sitting back at his laptop and immersing himself in work so much so that he barely noticed Penny leaving.

A good couple of hours had passed before Leonard re entered Sheldon's office with Howard and Raj. The sight before them truly boggled their minds. Sheldon was… _happy_. He was smiling and singing to himself as he worked and it kind of freaked them out.

'_What a day it has been, _

_What a rare mood I'm in,_

_Why it's almost like being in love,_

_There's a smile on my face,_

_For the whole human race,_

_Why it's almost like being in love.'_ Sheldon sang whilst bobbing his head and writing down equations on his board.

'Ahem.' Leonard cleared his throat and Sheldon spun around.

'Oh hello, can I help you?' he asked and Leonard raised an eyebrow.

'You realise you were singing out loud don't you?' Howard said and Sheldon blinked at his colleagues.

'No I wasn't.'

'Er, yes you were.' Raj interjected and Sheldon cocked his head to the side.

'Are you sure, that seems very unlike me.'

'Sheldon, all three of us saw you!' Leonard cried, 'What's got you so happy?'

'I don't know,' Sheldon lied. He knew the reason was Penny but he didn't want to reveal their relationship just yet, especially since it was still early days, 'I'm just feeling extremely happy today.'

'Come on, it's time to go home.'

'But I'm not finished,' Sheldon frowned.

'Well you'll have to get the bus home then Sheldon, cause we're off,' Leonard said.

'Very well,' Sheldon grumbled.

'I'll see you back at the apartment then.' Leonard sighed, and the three of them left.

'Just think, you'll soon have that Nobel Prize Sheldon, just think Nobel Prize, Nobel Prize.' Sheldon began to chant that over and over again.

* * *

Leonard, Howard and Raj all were laughing in their seats, a beer in their hand and Dungeons and Dragons in the middle of the table when suddenly the door banged open to reveal an angry Sheldon.

'Do you know what, the bell should be treated no differently than every other mechanical failure on the bus!' Sheldon yelled, practically throwing his keys into the bowl.

'Oh dear Lord, Sheldon's on a rampage,' Wolowitz murmured and Leonard and Raj chuckled.

'I fail to see what is so funny! The illumination of the bus passenger sign gives the passenger the confidence to remain in their seat until the bus becomes stationary. If it doesn't work, you get incidents like today's when a largely built woman fell on top of me because she needed to walk towards the front of the bus to make sure it stopped at her stop!' Sheldon ranted before storming to his bedroom to change.

'I don't know about you but that has made my day,' Raj laughed.

'I'm sure he deserved it.' Leonard added, 'Sheldon bugs everyone, it was karma getting back at him.'

The three of them laughed again before being interrupted by a knock on the door and Penny poking her head around the door.

'Sheldon…' She started to call out before she saw who was in the room. Leonard jumped out his seat.

'Penny!' he cried, running towards the door and opening it fully. 'Come in!'

'I think I'll er come back later. See you guys. Leonard.' She began to turn around to leave but Leonard caught her hand.

'Penny, Sheldon just came home and has gone to get changed. Please, just sit down; he'll be out in a minute.' Leonard begged and Penny let out a pained sigh.

'OK, whatever.' She breathed, sitting down at the breakfast bar.

'So um, how are you?' Leonard asked.

'I'm as can be.' Penny said. The atmosphere was so tense it could be cut with a knife and an awkward silence fell across the room.

'So er Raj, I need to show you that thing outside,' Howard said, pulling Raj out of the apartment. When they were alone, Leonard let out a deep breath.

'Penny, I need to speak with you.'

'Yeah, well I don't want to talk to you. I think I'm just gonna go.' Penny stood up and Leonard grabbed her arm again, 'Let go of me Leonard.'

'Penny, please.'

'Just bugger off and leave me alone!' She yelled, wrenching her arm away from Leonard and going back to her own place, slamming the door behind her. 2 minutes later, Sheldon emerged.

'What was that?'

'Penny was just here.'

'She was?' Sheldon couldn't help but let a small but dreamy smile cross his face as he thought of her.

'Yes, she was looking for you.' Leonard said, his voice laced with suspicion.

'Oh, well I'd best get over there.' Sheldon said, almost running out of the apartment. As he left, Wolowitz and Koothrapali re-entered.

'Wow Sheldon whizzed out of there quickly.' Howard laughed.

'You don't think something's going on between them do you?' Leonard asked, fearing what answers his friends would give.

'Hello, Sheldon would never be able to score someone like Penny.'

'Whist you make a valid point Howard, we mustn't forget that Sheldon was Penny's rock after you cheated on her Leonard. Plus he has been out every night for the past week, as has she. You said yourself that Sheldon told you that she had moved on.' Raj hypothesised, sitting down.

Leonard and Howard looked at each other, 'Sheldon wouldn't do that to me though would he?' Leonard said biting his lip, 'He knows I still love Penny.'

'Dude, I thought you and my sister were back together?' Raj asked.

'We are… I think, but I will always love Penny. We shared something special and it's not easily forgotten.' Leonard sighed. Suddenly his phone rang, the caller ID being Priya's. 'Hello.'

'_Hi Leonard, um… we need to talk.' _Priya said, sounding nervous.

'Those are words no one wants to hear… are you OK babe, you sound scared.' Leonard frowned and Raj looked at his friend in worry.

'_Leonard, promise you won't freak out and no one must know about this yet, especially Rajesh,_' Priya said slowly and Leonard felt his stomach drop. He had a dreaded idea of what was coming and he prayed that it wasn't what he was thinking. He almost ran to his room so he was alone and sat down on his bed.

'I promise.'

'_Leonard, I'm pregnant.' _

Leonard bowed his head, rubbing his eyes. What was he going to do now!

'How did this happen?' He said quietly, 'I thought we used protection.'

'_We did, but not on the night Penny caught us. I took the test this morning and it said I am one to two weeks pregnant, so the timing is accurate,_' Priya sighed over the phone.

'What shall we do?'

'_Well, it goes against my morals and beliefs to get rid of it, so I will have the baby._'

'Ok, so I guess we're having a baby… yaaaaayy.' Leonard said defeatedly, this was the last thing he wanted. He wasn't ready for a baby! He imagined having children with Penny, not Priya.

'_Yes we are, gosh Leonard, we're going to be parents. I'm so happy._' Priya laughed, not picking up on Leonard's tone of voice. Breathing in deeply, Leonard put on a phony smile.

'Me too Priya, me too.' He said before hanging up. He needed a drink, and he needed it now.

**Oooooooooh, didn't think I would put a pregnancy in this story, but I figured karma should come and bite leonard in the butt. Also, finally wrote in Sheldon and Penny's first kiss… Sorry I kept you waiting for 14 chapters but the best things come to those who wait haha. Next chapter will be up soon, hope you enjoyed this one.**


	15. Chapter 15

Leonard was depressed and drunk. He was lonely and he needed to talk to someone about Priya's pregnancy. Sheldon had come back 3 hours after going to Penny's so he knew something was up, he just needed confirmation. And he had got it. He had heard them coming up the stairs and had peeked from behind the door, watching as Penny kissed him goodnight. She had her arms wound around his neck and was standing on her tip toes.

'Goodnight,' she had said to him before going into her own apartment. Sheldon wasn't aware that he had seen them; he had just walked in and gone straight to bed. Leonard took another swig of beer. How could this happen. Him. A father. He didn't want this; he'd have to marry Priya, especially when Raj found out! And Sheldon, dating his Penny, the woman that Leonard was sure he still loved? Total betrayal on his behalf. Getting up, Leonard made his way over to Penny's apartment and pounded on her door.

'What on earth!' She cried as she opened the door.

'I need to speak to you!' he slurred.

'Go home Leonard, you're drunk.'

'Please Penny, I have no one to talk to and I really need to talk to someone right now.' Leonard begged and Penny sighed, taking pity on him. Unlike her, Leonard rarely got drunk when he was depressed, so it must have been bad. Penny stepped aside and let Leonard enter the apartment. He threw himself down on the couch and buried his head in his hands.

'Alright what's the matter?' Penny asked, sitting beside him.

'Priya is pregnant and I'm not ready to have a kid. I don't know what to do, how to act, what to feel…I always pictured having children with you.' Leonard said and Penny sighed.

'Well, you made your bed, it's time you lie in it. If you're going to have a sexual relationship with someone you have to be prepared for the risks that come with sex, especially unprotected sex.' Penny felt extremely uncomfortable talking about this with Leonard but she wasn't the type to turn a person away when they needed her, even if it was a cheating ex-boyfriend, 'How far along is she?'

'One to two weeks according to the test.'

'Oh, so she's literally just found out. Leonard it's still early days! 12 weeks is the safety zone and when people start finding out. Anything could happen, so don't stress.' She said softly and Leonard looked at her and nodded.

'You're right.'

'Right well, don't fret. Just make sure you're there for her.'

'Thank you Penny.' Leonard smiled. An awkward silence fell between them. 'Penny, I know you won't ever forgive me for what I did but I just want to say that, well what we had… it was something special, you and me. You don't really get it that often; you know when you're really connecting with someone. I er… I saw you kissing Sheldon a few hours ago; I just hope you know what you're letting yourself in for.'

Penny was starting to feel extremely uncomfortable being alone late at night with Leonard, especially when he was drunk and speaking like this to her. 'Are you getting off in a minute?' she asked, shifting in her seat.

'Well… I don't have to go.' Leonard said, shifting more to face her and inching that little bit closer.

Penny's gaze hardened, 'Er, yes you do. You know I'm with Sheldon now, seeing as you saw us.' She said firmly.

'Look, Penny… say or feel what you want about our relationship but at least we had some good times and it was never boring.' Leonard smiled and Penny nodded, smiling slightly. Suddenly Leonard was moving quickly towards her, obviously going in for a kiss.

'Right, that's it.' She said, standing up and pushing him away.

'No.' Leonard said, standing up also and squaring his position to hers.

'Get out Leonard, I've heard what you had to say but you've overstayed your welcome, now go.' Penny spat.

'You what? You've been flirting with me this whole time, I finally give you what you want and suddenly you go all Victorian Virgin on me? You're happy to make out in the hall with Sheldon but you won't do anything with me? What the hell is your problem bitch?' Leonard said angrily.

'I would hardly call listening to what you say flirting. I only let you in because I felt sorry for you, but I can see that was a mistake... now get out!'

'Don't play games with me,' he said, grabbing her arm.

'Right get off me!' she cried.

'No,' he laughed.

'Get off me now!' Penny said, struggling against his grip but he just continued to laugh. She continued to struggle so much that they both tripped on the arm of the sofa and fell over. Penny found herself pinned against the sofa by Leonard, who was gripping her arms in place. 'Get off Leonard.'

'No,' he whispered, gazing at her beautiful form.

'Are you proud of yourself?' she asked calmly, even though her heart was racing like mad.

'Penny, I love you.' He said, trying to search for returned affection in her eyes but Penny wasn't having it.

'Oh I get it. Are you gonna rape me now?'

Penny watched Leonard's gaze of lust quickly turn to shock and horror and he jumped off her before running out of her apartment. Alone in the dark, Penny placed a hand on her mouth and began to cry as she realised how scary that situation had truly been to her. She had never thought Leonard would make her physically scared like that. No doubt he would forget it when he woke up with his hangover in the morning but Penny wouldn't forget. She ended up lying in that same position all night, just crying until she drifted off.

* * *

'You're up early Leonard,' Sheldon said, walking into the kitchen. Leonard was glaring at his cereal as if they were in the middle of a bloody battle.

'I saw you.' He murmured, earning him a puzzled look from Sheldon.

'Excuse me?'

'I saw you yesterday, sucking the face off of Penny out in the hall!' Leonard yelled.

'Oh.' Sheldon said quietly.

'That's all you have to say? You bastard! How dare you go after her! You're supposed to be my best friend!' Sheldon remained quiet, not wanting to give Leonard the reaction he was trying to provoke from him. 'So how long did it take the tart to switch from me to you?'

'First off Leonard, Penny is not a tart and secondly, what Penny and I do is none of your concern. You lost the title of "best friend" the day you engaged in coitus with Priya. You made your choice Leonard! Now stick with it.' Sheldon said firmly.

'Why her though Sheldon? I know Penny is hot and a real trophy for any man to have but why did you of all people have to have her?!' Leonard growled, crackling his knuckles. Sheldon shook his head and let out a snort of derision.

'Leonard, you speak of Penny as if she is a prize to be won, a target that you must hit the bulls eye of. '

'Isn't she?' Leonard glared at him and Sheldon just gave him a look of disbelief. It was a wonder that Penny and Leonard even lasted so long. Sheldon thought of his Penny, the beauty that she held both inside and out. He thought of everything that made her Penny, like stealing his Wi-Fi and food, kicking his bullies in the balls, her being a big ol' 5, her beauty, the way her hair danced in the moonlight. He thought of her lips, her eyes, her nose, her cheeks, her heart and her smile. Penny was no target. She pierced through the hearts of many men, and none could tame her or hold her back. Penny wasn't anyone's trophy, she was her own woman and Sheldon respected that. Looking at Leonard, he gave a smirk and faced his roommate.

'No…' Sheldon paused, 'She is the arrow.'

**Decided to add a little drama with Leonard and Penny, so tensing it up hehe Can't let everything be all happy between Sheldon and Penny, else we wouldn't have a story. Want to thank you for all your reviews so far xx**


	16. Chapter 16

_Knock knock knock_

'Penny.'

_Knock knock knock_

'Penny.'

_Knock knock knock_

'Penny.'

Sheldon stood outside Penny's door. He was worried about her. He had gone to the Cheesecake Factory earlier to ask her if she wanted to go to a 3D Game of Thrones Marathon that was being held at the cinema but was told that Penny hadn't showed up for her shift and all calls had been ignored.

_Knock knock knock_

'Penny.'

_Knock knock knock_

'Penny.'

_Knock knock knock_

'Penny.'

There was still no answer. 'Penny open up!' he rapped on the door again. He knew he wasn't strong enough to kick the door down, but he did have a lock picking kit in his bedroom. He quickly acquired it, passing Leonard on his way out.

'What are you using that for?' he asked.

'I think something is wrong with Penny.' Sheldon said, his voice laced with worry. When a flash of guilt and panic passed over Leonard's face, Sheldon did not fail to pick up on it. 'What did you do?'

'Nothing!' Leonard cried. Sheldon didn't care about his protests; he just needed to concentrate on Penny now. He quickly managed to pick the lock and opened the door to Penny's apartment. Looking around, he noticed the apartment was dark, the curtains were shut and it was very quiet.

'Penny?' Sheldon called out, 'Dammit, why do I never have my tricorder on me when I need it!' he scolded himself.

He took a couple of steps forwards before _crunch_. He looked down to see Penny's phone smashed on the floor. She wasn't in the main part of the apartment, so she had to be in the bedroom or bathroom. He began to worry when she wasn't in either of these places. 'Penny!' he called out again and he decided to call Amy, see if she was with her. He made to sit down on the sofa when he felt something kick him.

'AHHHH!' he cried.

'Don't you dare sit on me.' Penny growled.

'Penny!' Sheldon cried, looking down and seeing Penny lying on the sofa, her head buried into the back of the seat, 'How long have you been lying there.'

'Since last night,' she said, her voice was shaky and Sheldon sunk to his knees, taking her hand. Penny turned to face him and Sheldon silently gasped. Her makeup was smudged, her hair was messy and she looked like she'd been through hell and back.

'What's happened?' He whispered, getting up and motioning to sit next to her. Penny moved her feet for him to do so and he scooped her up in his arms. He was so accustomed to being near Penny, touching her and holding her that it no longer bothered him. He stroked her blonde hair as a fresh set of tears just came. 'Did I do something last night to upset you?'

'No, don't you dare think for a second that it was you.' She sobbed and Sheldon nodded, just letting her cry.

All this commotion was creating a serious sense of déjà vu and it clicked in his genius brain. 'Was it Leonard?' he said in a hushed whisper and Penny nodded. 'What did he do?' he asked, his voice rising despite his efforts to keep calm.

Penny took a deep breath and wiped her eyes, pulling away so she could face him. 'Leonard was drunk and he came round late yesterday night, about 3 or 4 hours after we said goodnight. I should never have let him in but he was so depressed I felt sorry for him and I did. He told me that Priya was pregnant and that he wasn't ready to be a father. He then started to get all nostalgic, told me that he knew about us because he saw us in the hallway and then…,' she sighed, 'and then he got a bit heavy. I set him straight though, I told him I'm with you now. Me and him were over, I told him straight Sheldon.'

'Ok, I believe you' Sheldon nodded, rubbing his thumb on her hand.

'The next thing I know, he tried to kiss me. I pushed him away and he pushed me back. Then he grabbed my wrists; he said I'd been flirting with him the entire time he was over, which I hadn't. I couldn't move, I was struggling like mad,' Sheldon's eyes narrowed with anger and his jaw clenched, 'I know it sounds bad, but I didn't give him one bit of encouragement. He had me pinned down and I couldn't move… his face…' Penny's voice wavered, 'his face was right here.' She gestured to how close his face was to hers and she blinked back more tears, 'His breath smelt like alcohol and Mentos.'

'What did he do to you?' Sheldon growled, barely containing his anger.

'He frightened the life out of me…'

'Did he…'

Penny shook her head, quickly cutting him off, 'No, no. He had me pinned down and for one nanosecond… I thought he was going to. But he didn't.'

**To be continued soon :] How do you think Sheldon will react? let me know your guesses in your lovely reviews! xx**


	17. Chapter 17

Sheldon was so angry, he wanted to hit Leonard… he wanted to hurt him like he had hurt his Penny. Because of Leonard, Penny had hidden inside her apartment all day, skipped work and been in flood of tears.

'Penny, one thing I don't get is… well you're probably much stronger than Leonard, why didn't you… I quote… go all Nebraska on him?' Sheldon asked quietly, trying to further suppress his anger. Penny sighed and looked at him.

'If it was someone I didn't know, I would have but because it's Leonard… I've never seen him like that before and it scared me. It scared me to the point I just clammed up and before I knew it, he was on top of me. The only way I could think of to get him off me was to outright ask him was he going to rape me and it worked.'

'I'm going to kill him Penny, I truly am!' Sheldon's nostrils flared. Penny's use of the word rape just lit his very short fuse.

'No! I want to forget what happened with Leonard, Sheldon. He most likely won't remember and I want to keep it that way.' Penny whispered against Sheldon's chest, realising that he was no longer rocking her like he had before.

'Penny something has to be done about this! You can't expect me to stand by and watch that man get away with what he did to you! You're suffering because of it!'

'You must!' Penny pulled away from him and looked at him square in the eye, 'look into my eyes and promise me you won't do anything.' She took his chin in her small hand so that he had to look at her.

'I can't promise you anything Penny. I cannot make a promise if I cannot guarantee I can keep it to you.'

'Sheldon, I need you to do this for me.' She pleaded and Sheldon looked at her baffled at her decision.

'But why?'

Penny stood up angrily, why couldn't he respect her wishes without asking her questions about her reasoning behind it?! 'Because, I don't want to relive what happened ok?… don't you think I'm scared enough? If you confront Leonard then before we know it there could be arrests, trials, court dates and I'll have to relive the entire ordeal over and over again until there's a resolve! He didn't rape me anyway so nothing really happened that's worth you getting in a fight with him over!' she yelled, 'besides, you and Leonard in a physical fight? It would be painful to watch you guys… I mean you can't even throw a basketball through the hoop!' Penny stomped into her bedroom and Sheldon rolled his eyes. Penny always had to make a mountain out of a mole hill. He wasn't the best at reading emotions but he knew what this was… she was lashing out because she was frightened, humiliated and in total denial of the situation. He got up to follow her and raised a hand to knock on the door but Penny cut him off, 'don't knock on the door, and just come in if that's what you want to do.'

Sheldon was silent and he sat on the edge of her bed. 'Penny… I can't say that I know what you're feeling but I understand that you feel scared and…'

'Understand how I feel?' Penny said angrily, turning on Sheldon, 'You weren't the one under attack! You weren't the one who thought they were going to be raped, you don't know what this feels like!' Sheldon swallowed and nodded, making sure he remained calm and soothing, 'No, I don't know what that feels like, but I _understand_ that you feel scared and you just want to curl up and make this go away but the fact of the matter is it isn't. And as for me being in a physical fight, I'm not as weak as you deem me out to be. I can throw a cracking punch if I want to… you should have seen the way I punched that piñata when I was 8, all the candy came out first time round.'

'Sheldon, I know what your saying is true but I want to forget it, I don't want anyone to know.'

'Penny, this isn't going to go away!'

'No, but maybe you will.' She growled.

'But it's affecting you!'

'I'll be fine tomorrow, please just forget it. Forget it or get out of my apartment and don't come back!'

'Don't you think you're overreacting?'

'No I don't. So what will it be, Sheldon?'

'Penny, you might not want to fight for your honour, but I will.' Sheldon growled before walking swiftly out of her apartment. Penny bit her lip, thinking about Sheldon's side of the argument. In a way he was right and his intentions were honourable and Sheldon had never said anything about contacting the police… just dealing with Leonard. Suddenly she heard a loud bang and she knew she had to get over there now… and fast!

* * *

Leonard sat on his bed, chewing his thumb as he worried about what was going to happen to him. Sheldon had been around Penny's for a while now and he vaguely remembered that there had been a struggle between himself and Penny last night when he was majorly drunk. Suddenly he heard the door slam open and a shrill voice pierce through the air.

'LEONARD!' Sheldon screamed. Leonard opened the door to his bedroom and frowned. He walked out into the main lounge and looked at Sheldon.

'What?'

Sheldon marched straight up to Leonard and shoved him up against the wall, just as Raj and Howard and Bernadette walked up the staircase.

'I know what you did to Penny!' Sheldon roared.

'Sheldon no!' Penny cried, running in. She had never seen Sheldon lose control, none of them had and they all exchanged confused and shocked looks.

'Penny what happened?' Howard asked and Penny ignored him.

'Sheldon violence isn't the answer, please just drop him!' she pleaded but Sheldon was too angry to listen.

'You bastard! It's bad enough you are sleeping with Priya and you impregnate her but to force yourself on Penny! How dare you! How dare you!' Sheldon raged, his blood boiling and the veins in his neck and temple throbbing.

'I didn't touch her!' Leonard cried. He had never seen Sheldon so angry and it was scary, 'I was drunk and depressed, I'm sorry! I didn't mean to do anything; I didn't mean to hurt her! Nothing happened!'

'Wait, my sister is pregnant!?'

'You scared the living daylights out of my girlfriend and you think that's NOTHING!' Sheldon ignored everything and everyone around him. His soul focus was Leonard, all the bottled up anger he had put away whilst listening to Penny were finally being unleashed and it was a lot for one man to take. Penny ran forward and pulled Sheldon away from Leonard.

'Sheldon, stop it!' she said firmly, turning him around so she was holding his head in his hands. She rested her forehead against his and just held him until his breathing calmed down, 'Please,' she added with a whisper. When she let him go, he turned to face Leonard.

'Leonard, I am terminating the roommate agreement. I want you out of this apartment. I don't care where you go… I want you to leave. Pack up your stuff and be out of here by tomorrow.' Sheldon said calmly.

'You can't just kick me out! Section 5 of the roommate agreement clearly states that if one of us wishes to leave the apartment, they must give one month's notice.'

'I won't deny that it does Leonard, but Section 7, subsection 4 paragraph 3 states that should one roommate partake in something criminal or related to criminal activities, immediate eviction can be put into place.'

'How will you cover the bills by yourself?' Leonard asked and Sheldon shook his head.

'That's none of your concern. I like to think I have been extremely forgiving up until now but you trying it on with Penny has been the final straw. I have nothing further to say to you.'

'Alright, I'll move… but seeing as I've already paid the rent until the end of the month I will stay until the end of the month. That will give me time to find a place and…' Leonard started to plead his case but trailed off when Sheldon opened his chequebook and wrote Leonard a cheque that would cover reimburse half of this month rent that he had paid.

'Take it and go.' Sheldon growled.

'Sheldon…'

'I own this apartment Leonard, its lease is in my name and I legally have the right to evict you! So get your stuff and go.' Sheldon said, feeling Penny's hand slip into his. Leonard was speechless, but he knew of one place that would take him in and that would be Priya.

'Fine! Good luck finding another roommate who will adhere to all your special needs like I do!' Leonard yelled before turning on his heel and starting to pack. As soon as he was gone, a tonne of questions were being thrown at Sheldon and Penny.

'Why don't we go over to my apartment so Leonard can pack and Sheldon can calm down.' Penny said softly and there was a murmur of agreement from everyone aside from Sheldon.

'No, there's things I still need to do.' Sheldon said, sitting down at his computer.

'Sheldon, bring your laptop to my place if you must use the computer,' Penny took the laptop from him and walked into her place with everyone following suit. Rolling his eyes, Sheldon snatched back his laptop from Penny. No one touched his gaming laptop except him!

'Since I am not allowed to engage in a physical fight with Leonard, I need to make his life a misery until I am fully satisfied that I have given him exactly what he deserves.' Sheldon said simply as he sat down, 'First, we start off by telling Priya what has happened.'

'Speaking of Priya, does someone want to fill me in?!' Raj asked.

'Raj… we know nothing for sure but apparently Priya is pregnant with Leonard's baby.' Penny sighed and Sheldon scoffed.

'My sister is pregnant!' Raj bellowed, 'Excuse me but I need to go and have a word with my sister!' Raj almost ran out of the apartment, slamming the door behind him.

'That should tie in nicely with the email I am about to send Priya.' Sheldon smirked.

'Sheldon, can I have a word.' Penny took his hand and pulled him into her bedroom before he could press SEND. 'Sheldon, I told you I didn't want anyone to know about this and in less than 5 minutes you've managed to fill Bernadette, Howard and Raj in as well as telling them about Priya being pregnant!'

'And?'

'Don't you see the problem?'

'No.' Sheldon shrugged and Penny screamed in frustration.

'You are infuriating Sheldon! I told you I wanted to keep this under wraps and you have announced it to all our friends! How do you think that makes me feel?'

'Oh…' Sheldon said quietly, a look of realisation crossing his face.

'Yes oh.'

'Penny, I was so angry that I had to do something. I even was surprised at myself when I threw Leonard against the wall and I am not one for being surprised easily. I did it because I care about you Penny.'

'If you cared about me, you would have respected my wishes and kept your gob shut!' Penny yelled, 'Now you've gone and screwed everything up! You've lost yourself a roommate so you won't be able to keep up with the bills and then you'll have to move and I won't see you anymore and…' Penny choked up and began to cry again. The past 15 minutes had been such a blur to her, 'You've screwed everything up Sheldon! Now everyone knows what Leonard did, they are going to talk and before you know it someone will report it to the cops! Thanks a lot!'

'Penny, when you care about someone, you only do what you think is best for them, even if they aren't fit to make that choice themselves!'

'Oh so now I'm not fit to make my own decisions!'

'I'm not saying that…'

'Tread very carefully Sheldon because you are walking on thin ice!' Penny warned, her eyes narrowing.

'Fine! You want to know why I wanted to hurt Leonard so bad? You want to know why for the first time in my life I have completely lost control of myself? It's because of you! Because of you Penny… you make me feel human, you make me feel real and if anything were to happen to you I couldn't live with myself. To find out that you had been attacked by my roommate, by someone who I used to value as my best friend… It brought out a rage in me I never thought I had!'

'As touching as that is Sheldon, it still doesn't explain why you told everyone!'

'Do you think I intended for the Wolowitz's and Koothrapali to arrive when I was shouting at Leonard?'

'Well no... but…'

'But nothing Penny! You are in complete denial about the facts here. Only you can make a complaint about Leonard to the police, sure people will talk but it was bound to get out sooner or later! And you wouldn't be fine tomorrow, you'd have a heavy burden on your chest because you would keep it to yourself. Would you have even told me if I hadn't found you?'

'Of course I would.' Penny said, with a little uncertainty.

'Penny, I did what I did because I have never cared for anyone more than I care for you. You are the arrow!'

'The arrow?'

'Yes. This morning Leonard referred to you as a trophy to be won, a target to be hit but I told him you were neither. You were the arrow because you pierce through the hearts of men, you're strong, independent, clever, beautiful, talented! You pinpoint what you want and you make sure you get there as swiftly as possible! You are the arrow and you've pierced this heart too.' Sheldon said his voice softening as he placed his hand over his heart, 'Let me ask you something Penny… if the situation had been reversed and I had been the one who had been attacked and felt like they had been close to being sexually assaulted, what would you have done?'

Penny dropped her gaze to the floor, knowing she was defeated. Sheldon made good points and he was right, as always.

'I would have done the same as you.' She whispered and Sheldon nodded before taking her in his arms and kissing the top of her head as he embraced her slim figure.

'I didn't set out to hurt you Penny. What I did, I did to protect you and I was soul set on punching the living daylights out of him but you came and you stopped me and it made me realise… I have an IQ of 187, I can use the power of the mind to come up with something far worse than a punch.'

'OK Sheldon, but don't send that email to Priya. She's pregnant… if she reads it and loses her baby because of it, she could blame you and I would feel responsible.' Penny relented.

'Fine… but I will make Leonard's life hell for the next few weeks, I promise you that. And I am going to start by signing him up to receive a tonne of junk mail that will go straight to his inbox.'

'Sheldon, I've just realised something.' Penny smiled pulling away to look up at Sheldon

'What?

'Well, first off… we've just had our first fight. Normally I'd suggest that we engage in makeup sex right now but…' she looked at him and sighed before continuing, 'and secondly, which is definitely more important. When you were yelling at Leonard, you called me your girlfriend.' She blushed, a light shade of pink crossing her cheeks and Sheldon felt a smile creep across his lips as he recalled the events.

'Yes, I believe I did.'

'So I guess this means we're in an exclusive relationship?'

'Yes, though I have to create a relationship agreement for you to sign. Once you sign it…'

'Sheldon I'm not signing a relationship agreement.' Penny cut him off.

'Darn.'

**Thanks so much for your reviews in the previous chapter guys! I loved reading all your theories and was pleasantly surprised to see how close some of you came to guessing what was in this chapter! I don't think Sheldon's a very violent person by nature so his ass whooping on Leonard shan't be violent I'm afraid. I hope you enjoyed the chapter, let me know what you think :] xx**


	18. Chapter 18

Raj knocked on Priya's door repeatedly until she opened it up, looking at him incredulously.

'Rajesh? What are you doing here?' she asked, but Raj just pushed past her and entered the apartment.

'I forbid you to see Leonard!' Raj yelled and Priya raised an eyebrow, looking at her brother bemusedly.

'You forbid me?' she smirked. Raj knew that she wasn't taking him seriously… again but this time he was going to lay down the law.

'I know you are pregnant Priya! How could you do this to yourself? To the family? What are Mother and Father going to say when they find out?'

'I don't know what you're talking about Rajesh,' Priya scoffed as she made her way into the kitchen to pour her a cup of jasmine tea.

'You are pregnant with Leonard's baby. 1-2 weeks. So don't lie to me little sister.'

Priya sighed and picked up her tea, sitting down at the breakfast bar. 'How did you find out? Did Leonard tell you?' she asked quietly and Raj snorted.

'No, Sheldon did.'

'Sheldon! How does he know?'

'That brings me onto our next topic of discussion. There's something else I need to tell you too.' Raj said and Priya looked at him.

'Well?'

'I'm not sure how you're going to take it,' Raj said, softening his voice.

'Rajesh, I'm already pregnant… nothing can surprise me at the moment.' Priya sighed, looking at her brother in boredom.

'OK, well, when I arrived at Leonard and Sheldon's apartment, Sheldon was pinning Leonard up against the wall. I have known Sheldon a long time Priya and in all my years of knowing him he has never lost control like that.'

'What? Is Leonard OK? Why did he throw Leonard up against the wall?'

'From what I gathered upon walking in, Leonard made a pass at Penny last night, a pass that ended badly and Penny was left feeling extremely scared.'

'What?'

'I don't know the full details, all I know is Sheldon was extremely angry and because of it, he kicked Leonard out.'

'I don't believe you…' Priya whispered.

'Priya, I know it's difficult to believe but it's the truth and I'm sorry. I know there's not much you can do now that you're pregnant but please don't be a fool and stay with Leonard.' Raj took his sister's hands in his own and squeezed them. 'I won't tell our parents about your pregnancy, I just want to make sure that you're going to be ok.'

'But I love him…' Priya whispered, 'I don't want my baby growing up without his father. I need to speak to Leonard, Rajesh; find out from his point of view.'

'You're making a mistake…' Raj pleaded but Priya shook her head.

'I need to speak with him, now goodnight Raj.' She opened the front door and motioned for him to leave.

* * *

Sheldon sat at his computer, gleefully signing up Leonard's e-mail address to all these random sites on the internet. Both he and Penny had decided that it would be best for him to stay over at Penny's until Leonard was gone.

'Do you want me to sleep on the sofa tonight?' Penny asked and Sheldon looked up at her.

'No, you're my girlfriend now. The logical thing to do is to sleep besides you.'

'Well, I don't want to be an inconvenience.'

'I find that I rather enjoy sleeping beside you Penny,' Sheldon smiled and Penny grinned.

'I like sleeping beside you too.'

Sheldon grinned, 'I'm booking Leonard's car in at webuyanycar. com,' and Penny rolled her eyes and sat beside him in her nightie, 'I've also signed him up to all these different sites so he gets spammed with junk.' He said showing her the list of websites in his history browser.

'Hey! Cosmo isn't junk!' Penny gasped, pointing at his screen.

'It is if you're male and a physicist.' Sheldon argued back, 'Oh and that paper he has submitted to Gablehauser in order to obtain a grant for his department at the university? Hacked into it and changed it so it's contents reads the entire history on toilets.'

'Sheldon, you are bad!' Penny giggled, playfully batting his shoulder.

'I'm just getting started. He will regret the day he tried it on with my Penny.'

'Come on Sheldon, its late… let's go to bed.' Penny yawned, getting up and turning off lights. Sheldon shut the lid of his laptop and stretched as he stood up.

'Alright, I'll just get ready for bed then. I trust you have installed adhesive ducks in your bathroom so that it's safe to use.'

'If you mean I put a bathmat in the shower… yes.' Penny rolled her eyes.

'Good, well I shall be with you in you 5 minutes then.' Sheldon smiled, walking into the bathroom. Penny slipped into bed, her heart beating fast Sheldon was going to be willingly sleeping with her in bed for the first time as her boyfriend. She wasn't expecting anything to happen because he was still Sheldon but in time, perhaps that would change.

Soon enough, the door opened to reveal Sheldon in his pyjamas and dressing gown. He turned the bathroom light out and slipped into bed next to her. Penny snuggled into his body, feeling his arm wrap around her waist.

'Sheldon?' Penny whispered.

'Mmm?'

'I want to thank you for supporting me and helping me after what happened with Leonard.'

'You're welcome,' he said and Penny felt him press a kiss to her temple, 'and you know what you could do to show me how thankful you are?'

'As long as it's not signing a relationship agreement, I'm up for anything.'

'….' Sheldon paused and Penny sat up, looking down at him.

'Really Sheldon?'

'No, I was going to ask er… darn.' Penny laughed to herself at his inability to lie and bit her lip before attempting something bold. She was pretty sure that Sheldon had never passionately kissed anyone before, so tonight she was going to change that. Slowly, she straddled him. 'Penny? What are you doing?'

'Shh,' she whispered, lying down on top of him. She cupped his face with her hands and caressed his cheeks with her thumbs before slowly bending down and pressing her lips to his so that she captured them in a soft kiss. She felt his heart rate quicken and his hand move the small of her back. She bit the bottom of his lip in order to try and spice up the kiss but all she received was a whiney

'Owwww! What was that for?!'

Penny giggled, 'I'm sorry,' she said, pressing a soft kiss to his lips again. She looked at him, her eyes now adjusted to the dark, and smiled gently. He reached up and tucked her hair behind her ear, 'Kiss me,' she whispered to him and he willingly obliged. He found that kissing Penny was extremely pleasurable and it gave him a warm feeling in his tummy. If he wasn't careful, he'd give into sexual desire and he couldn't have that just yet. He could feel Penny fumbling at the knot in his dressing gown and he knew then that she was eager for more than this. As Penny undid Sheldon's dressing gown, she felt a firm object press into her.

'Is that a batman gun or are you just happy to see me,' she giggled, kissing him again. Sheldon reached down and put his hand in his dressing gown.

'It's actually my lucky Flash Gordon Ray Gun replica, I must have left it in my dressing gown,' Sheldon said, showing her. Penny clambered off him and crossed her legs, taking the replica out of his hands and looking at it. She started to laugh at the situation, 'besides Batman doesn't have a gun Penny. Because of clashes with the National Firearms Act, which was supported by the US government, Batman was disarmed in 1940, therefore he has no use of a gun.'

'Well, thank you for telling me that information sweetie… a real mood enticer.' She said and Sheldon smiled.

'I'm glad you agree,' Sheldon said gleefully, not picking up on her sarcasm. After another kiss, they both fell asleep.

* * *

The next morning, Leonard looked around the place he had called home for the past decade. All his belongings were boxed up and packed in his car, he was about to carry the last few boxes down when all of a sudden he came face to face with Sheldon.

'I thought you might've gone by now.' Sheldon said in a cold, monotonous voice.

'Well, don't worry. I'll be out of your hair soon.' Leonard sighed, not in the mood to fight. He just wanted to have an adult, calm conversation with Sheldon now. Suddenly his phone buzzed, 'dammit! More spam mail!' he muttered to himself before turning to face Sheldon, 'Listen, I want you to know that I am truly sorry about what happened with Penny. I was drunk; I didn't mean to hurt her or to scare her. I mistook her signals because I was totally hammered, Sheldon. I don't want to be a dad yet and I want to apologise to both you and Penny. I hope you two will be very happy together and I hope that you will treat her far better than I ever did.' Leonard's voice was surprisingly sincere and apologetic, 'I wish I could turn back the clock and then none of this would ever have happened. I wish I had never cheated on Penny, I wish Priya hadn't come back; I wish you were my best friend again! God dammit Sheldon, I don't know why but I enjoy living with you! I'll never forget that day we came back home after you got kicked out of Walmart for lecturing shoppers about personal hygiene.'

'Leonard, if this is an attempt to relent and let you stay, it isn't working.'

'No it's not. I'm not asking to stay with you at all, I just want us to try and be friends again. I promise to stay away from Penny, I want to go back to when it was just Wolowitz, Koothrapali, you and me playing Halo 3 on Wednesday nights.'

'Leonard, the world changes, and even if we both wanted to go back to that we can't. Wolowitz is married now, you're going to be a father, Raj is still…well he's still Raj and myself, I'm with Penny now. What you need to do is to find your own place and start getting ready for fatherhood.' Sheldon said calmly, 'Now, please drop your keys off in the bowl on your way out.'

'Sheldon?'

'What?'

'Will we ever be friends again?'

Sheldon didn't answer, he just walked off to his bedroom and began playing Penny's song on his piano. Perhaps he would give his mother a call… he wanted her to know about Penny and his new relationship with her. Meanwhile, Leonard sighed as he closed the door to apartment 4A behind him. He had officially moved out of the apartment. He now had to embrace fatherhood and a whole new lifestyle. Penny was his past now. Priya and their unborn child was his future.

**Hey everyone, thanks for the reviews so far! Love getting them from you! Gonna be, as Sheldor of Azeroth would say, AFK for the next few days so we're probably looking at the next update being on Sunday/Monday time. Sorry for not being able to update for you :[ Anyways, let me know what you think of the chapter and have a nice day! xx**


	19. Chapter 19

Leonard trudged up the stairs to Priya's apartment, after deciding that he should leave all his stuff in his car until he was sure Priya would take him in. Taking a deep breath, he rapped on her door and after the sound of approaching footsteps, the door soon opening to reveal the mother of his unborn child. He took in her appearance as she was looking a little worse for wear. He was used to seeing her all glamorous and business like but today, her un-straightened hair tumbled down onto her shoulders, she wore no makeup, joggers, a white tank top and a grey oversized cardigan.

'Hello, Leonard.' She said quietly.

'Hey babe, can I come in?' he asked and she nodded, stepping aside so that he could enter, 'Are you alright?'

'No Leonard, now that you ask I'm not,' she said, closing the door. Leonard felt his heart race faster as he sat down on the white sofa, 'I had a visit from Rajesh yesterday and he told me some interesting things.' She said sitting beside him. He nodded and looked at her.

'What did he tell you?'

'He told me that Sheldon has kicked you out, that he threw you against the wall because you made a pass at Penny.' Priya chewed the skin on her thumb, struggling to find the right words to say, 'Did you rape her?' she whispered and Leonard shook his head vigorously.

'No!'

'Then, I think you need to tell me the truth Leonard, the whole truth… even if it's something I don't want to hear.' Priya said her voice cracking slightly. Leonard sighed and nodded. It was time for the truth to come out. He was tired of feeling jealous and having this obsession of trying to get Penny back. He had said it to Sheldon himself: Priya was perfection for him. Penny was just a fantasy. If his relationship with Penny had really been meaningful to him, he would have had the strength to resist Priya's advances.

'Alright,' he said quietly, 'When you came back, Penny and I were in a relationship. I thought we were in love but when you came back into my life and we started to reconnect, well it was difficult for me. I had Penny as my girlfriend and I enjoyed it… it's something I had been fantasizing about since the day she moved here and well, as we hung out more, she became less relevant and hanging out with you became more important to me.

'When we kissed again and slept together, I enjoyed it. I know I shouldn't have but I loved being with you, however this fantasy with Penny just wouldn't leave. I felt like I should be with her, even though to me you are perfection.' Leonard sighed and looked at Priya, who was staring at the floor, 'That night, when you told me you were pregnant… I freaked. I truly freaked. I just don't think I'm ready for fatherhood, but I am willing to try and be as best parent I can be now. Anyway… I got tremendously drunk, and you know I'm not one for getting drunk to drown my sorrows. I then saw Sheldon and Penny kissing in the hallway and because I still had this fantasy in my head, I felt betrayed. I thought I loved her, but in honesty I loved the idea of being with her.

'I still couldn't get over the fact you were pregnant and well I went over to spill my sorrows to Penny. Even before we first went out, I would always find myself able to talk to her about my troubles. So I went over and told her and I mistook her signals as her flirting with me. She told me to leave but I didn't want to, I said no and she tried to shove me out but I took her arm and I… I pushed her and we toppled over the couch. I told her I loved her. Then she asked me was I going to rape her and I realised the predicament I was in. Then she told Sheldon and he got mad and kicked me out. But Priya, please understand… I don't love Penny. I thought I did but I don't… I love you. It's you I want to be with and I am actually kind of excited we're going to have a baby.' Leonard said, reaching out to take Priya's hand, however she flinched away from him.

'So what Rajesh told me was true?'

'Yes.' Leonard sighed, ashamed to admit it and Priya saw his guilt cross his face, 'I truly am sorry about it. I want to apologise so bad but… they don't believe me, I promised not to go near Penny again and I promise to keep that.'

'Where are you going to live now?'

'I'll probably check into a motel or something, until I can find a suitable apartment. Sheldon texted me earlier saying that until I've established a new place of residents, he's asked that my mail be forwarded to my desk at work.' Leonard sighed. Priya obviously didn't want him to stay. He had been a fool to think that she would, 'Say something…' he whispered after she was silent for a few moments.

'What do you want me to say Leonard?' Priya looked at her boyfriend and stared at him, trying to get her head around the situation.

'I… I don't know. But I can't bear the silence.' Leonard rested his face in the palm of his hands. How had it come to this? 'Do you want me to leave? Because it sure feels like you do.'

'No, I don't want you to leave.' Priya said quickly, 'Do you love me Leonard?'

'Yes… I think I do. Let's move away from here… let's go to a whole new area where nobody knows us, so we can start afresh and be a family.' Leonard said, grabbing her and pulling her close to him.

'You'd do that… for us?' Priya whispered, placing a hand on her flat stomach.

'Yes… I love you Priya. I know that now and I truly am sorry for what happened with Penny.' Leonard kissed her hands. He was kind of surprised at what had come out of his mouth… yes it was basically the truth but he had definitely and unintentionally hyped everything up and it looked like it was working in his favour.

'Well, ok… I think that you should move in with me. I've just finished unpacking the last box and I do love this apartment. It is a 15 minute drive away from your old apartment so I think it's safe to say we can start afresh.'

Leonard smiled at Priya, 'I love you.'

'I love you too.'

* * *

Sheldon had told his mother about his relationship with Penny and to his surprise, his mother had asked for him to visit Texas with Penny for a week so she could meet her properly and introduce her to the family. Sitting down at his computer, he began to do some work but was soon interrupted with what sounded like Penny singing at the top of the lungs.

'_I'm free! Let it go! Let it go! I am one with the wind and sky!'_

Confused, Sheldon walked over to Penny's apartment and knocked thrice on her door and saying her name as he usually did. The singing stopped and the door soon opened to reveal a smiling Sheldon.

'Hey sweetie, what's up?'

'Are you singing?' he asked and she nodded. 'Whilst your voice is much better after those singing lessons you've had, it's disturbing my work. I am on the verge of making a breakthrough and I cannot concentrate when you are singing at the top of your lungs.'

Penny crossed her arms and glared at him, 'For your information, I'm rehearsing!'

'For what?'

'I got a call back to audition for Broadway's version of "Frozen". I'd be playing Elsa and I have to practice, especially this song because it's so difficult. If I get this, it could be my big break.' Penny said and a small smile played across Sheldon's lips.

'Why didn't you tell me?' he asked and she shrugged.

'I didn't want to get my hopes up, I've been practicing with my singing teacher and I have to get it right.' Penny sighed, 'Here's the song.' She played it on YouTube and Sheldon grimaced. It wasn't exactly his kind of music, it was for younger people with bubble brains as opposed to his pure genius; but it was definitely a typical film that Broadway would make an adaptation of and he did have to admit it was a difficult song to sing.

'I guess you had better show me your version of this song.' Sheldon said sitting in his spot.

'What, now?'

'No, tomorrow when I have far less time on my hands. Of course now Penny.' Sheldon said and Penny raised her eyebrows as a smirk formed on Sheldon's face, 'see how I used sarcasm there?' he grinned and Penny shook her head, chuckling to herself.

'Alright, alright. I want your honest opinion though Sheldon so don't try and create an elaborate lie like you did last time!'

'I shall give you 100% honesty this time. No fictionary drug addicted relative this time… I promise.' Sheldon grinned. She took a deep breath and began to sing. When she finished, she bit her lip and looked at him.

'Well?'

'You want my honest opinion?'

'Yes.'

'It was very good… a major improvement from your catastrophic attempt at that song from the Rent Musical. You need to control your breathing better and not to strain your voice too much at the end and then it'll be perfect.'

'Really?' Penny squealed and she hugged him and kissed his face all over, 'Thank you Sheldon, it means a lot to me that you tell me the honest truth.'

'It's alright,' he said, removing himself from her clasp, 'by the way… my mother has invited us to stay with her for a week as she wants to get to know you.'

'Really?'

'Yes, I told her we'd visit her when the time was appropriate for both of us.' Sheldon said, 'now please keep the noise levels down for the next hour. I'll be going to the lab in an hour and then you can sing to your hearts content.'

'Alright Sheldon,' Penny giggled before kissing him goodbye and shutting the door behind him as he left. She decided that she would watch "Frozen" again and study the character she was going to play, taking notes and before she knew it, the film was over. Taking Sheldon's advice, she began to practice singing again. Her audition was in two days and she needed perfection.

**Sorry I had to keep this update away from you guys for so long! Won't happen again anytime soon. Let me know what you think! xx**


	20. Chapter 20

Sheldon sighed as he sat down on the bus. Obviously Penny had forgotten to pick him up from work today otherwise she had better have a good explanation as to why he had to get the bus. Trudging up the stairs, he opened his apartment door to see Penny curled up in _his_ spot under a blanket in her dressing gown, staring blankly at the "Maury Show" flickering on the tv.

'You are so that baby's daddy… that baby has your nose, and your eyes.' She muttered to herself as she watched, unaware that Sheldon had entered the room. Clearing his throat, Penny looked at him and sighed, 'Oh…heya.'

'Hello,' Sheldon said tossing his keys in the bowl, 'You forgot to pick me up. So you'd best have…' Sheldon looked at her, realising that she wasn't her usual happy self, 'what's up with you?'

'I'm just depressed.'

'Why?'

'Leon, the casting director from that Broadway show I auditioned for, called today.'

'And?' Sheldon asked, sitting down as she scooted out of his spot.

'I didn't get the part,' Penny sighed and Sheldon took her hand in his.

'There, there. Would you like a hot beverage?'

'He told me I was the bloody understudy,' Penny sulked and Sheldon stopped caressing Penny's hand as he frowned, visibly confused.

'And that's bad?'

'Well yeah, I don't get to be onstage at all but I have to learn the lines, songs and rehearse. I do all the work with no recognition.'

'Penny, you're an understudy in a Broadway production. That's pretty big and even if it isn't what you wanted, other girls would kill to have it. I know you think that being an understudy isn't as good and obviously it is incredibly frustrating – but remember… it is also a recognition of your talent that they feel you are good enough to handle a major role with minimal rehearsal, on short notice. You know, successful understudies go on to have amazing careers, because to do the job right you need even more drive and determination, and to maintain your focus through the most demanding scenario - all the work, none of the appreciation... but if you can do it, you're going to make it to be the lead down the road. You wanted a career in acting so it's not about this one production - look at the long term effects and all the doors it will open for you.'

'You're right.'

'Now there are two wasted words,' Sheldon stated and Penny rolled her eyes.

'Why are you always right Sheldon? It's not fair!' she sulked.

'Well, I am pure genius.'

Penny snorted, 'Modest much.'

'Why be modest about the truth?' Sheldon said, walking across to the kitchen to get some Kool-Aid.

'_Why be modest about the truth_.' Penny mimicked when his back was turned. For the past week she was seriously crabby and she couldn't figure out why. When she had asked Amy about it, the diagnosis was she was feeling sexually deprived and in Amy's words, she "wasn't getting any" which to Penny's dismay, she realised to be true. She knew Sheldon wouldn't sleep with her; the simplest chance was so small it was nearly out of reach. There was only so much she could do herself and it wasn't the same as the raw passion she got through physical intimacy.

'So are you going to tell me why you've been so morbid and touchy lately? I've checked my calendar and you're not due to start menstruating for another two weeks.' Sheldon asked sipping his drink and Penny shot him a death glare. He must have picked up on it too then… which meant it had to be blatantly obvious if even Sheldon saw it.

'Trust me Sheldon, you don't want to know.' She said, her eyes flickering back to the screen.

_When it comes to 3 year old Tenisha, Ray…. You ARE the father!_

'Yeah! I knew he was the father!' Penny said to herself and Sheldon sighed before grabbing the remote and turning off the TV.

'Why do you watch trash like that?'

'I happen to love that show, so to me it's not trash.' Penny stuck her tongue out and this time it was Sheldon that rolled his eyes. Before he had a chance to react, she had snatched the remote out his hand and tried to turn the TV back on but soon enough he had the remote back.

'Penny, this is my apartment, why don't you watch TV in yours. Now, tell me why you are acting strange.' Sheldon said.

'Seriously? Sheldon, you don't want to know, trust me.' She said, folding her arms.

'Yes, I do. Now tell me… perhaps I can help?'

'Oh you _can_ help me Sheldon, whether or not you want to is a different matter.' She chuckled sadly and he frowned.

'Well, you're my girlfriend. Protocol suggests that I do everything in my power to make you feel better so what is it you need me to do?'

'Sheldon…'

'Penny, just tell me.'

'Ok fine! Here it is…' Penny sighed and took in a deep breath, 'I want… no… I need to have sex. I get crabby if I don't get any.'

'Oh…'

'Yes, and I know you don't like the concept of it but it truly is wonderful especially when you do it with someone you love and I don't want to push you into anything you don't want to do. It's just I love it so much because it's something I am actually good at and I miss it. But don't worry I'll get past it.' Penny smiled, sitting back down. Sheldon sat beside her and clasped his hands together, leaning forward for what looked like a serious discussion.

'Penny, as you are aware… I am not like ordinary human beings. I find it uncomfortable and difficult to enjoy physical contact that comes easily to other people. When you once asked me would I ever be physical with Amy, I told you it was a possibility. Well I didn't lie to you. Amy has definitely softened me, made me more aware of romantic interactions and I do thank her for it. I think since I have been dating you I have become far more relaxed and comfortable into these social interactions… I mean I've kissed you at least a dozen times more than I kissed Amy and I have even slept next to you… twice I might add. I'm not rejecting the idea of a physical relationship with you… I just need to plan it and prepare myself.'

'Ugh, Sheldon, I appreciate that's how you feel but you can't plan sex… it's all about raw passion and the heat of the moment. It's about feeding off your partners emotions and when it happens…. Oh Sheldon, it's amazing!' Penny yelled, trying to make him understand.

'No it's about planning in order to avoid unwanted pregnancies! Coitus is for procreating new life, not for pleasure. As beautiful as you are Penny, you are far too promiscuous for your age and you need to tone it down! ' Sheldon growled, their difference of opinion creating a rift in the atmosphere. Penny immediately recognised it as sexual tension and before she realised what she was doing, she chucked herself at him, her lips crashing against his in a fit of passionate rage. Sheldon was just as shocked at his own reaction and how his body just seemed to go with it as he returned her kiss eagerly. When he felt her tug at the bottom of his flash t-shirt and a twitching in his lower regions, he pulled away quickly.

'Penny, I know you're sexually frustrated but I just don't think I am ready yet.' He gasped, trying to think desperately of things that would not arouse him and would help regain control over his emotions. What he hadn't taken into account was Penny's experience. She had sensed his arousal and she was too far gone into what Sheldon called "Sex Perversion" to stop now. She had realised that she had mixed up pushing him and pressuring him into a physical relationship. All he needed was a small push because she knew he wanted it deep down, he just wasn't aware of it. If he didn't want it, he wouldn't get so easily aroused like every other red blooded male. Amy had gone about it the wrong way, but Penny… she knew what she was doing.

'Yes you are Sheldon, I saw on your schedule in your room that every Tuesday and Friday evenings, just before you go to sleep, you schedule some time for you to satisfy your little friend. If you can do that… trust me Sheldon… you can shag.' Penny said and Sheldon thought about her argument, realising what she was saying was true and he was definitely aroused by her kissing and touch. However, his stubbornness prevented him from letting her be right for once and he continued to try and resist.

'Maybe so, but…'

'Oh come on Sheldon… you can't tell me that _this_ doesn't turn you on?' She asked, backing away and dropping her dressing gown to reveal just her purple lace bra and black shorts. She then slowly stripped off until she was fully naked and standing in front of him. Sheldon didn't blink as he watched this beautiful creature undress before him. He swallowed and opened his mouth, however no words came out. Penny smirked. Success. 'Sheldon, I need you.'

'N-n-n-need me?' he asked, staring at her naked form.

'Yes. I need you to make love to me; I want you more than anyone I've ever been romantically attracted to.' She said, not breaking eye contact with him. Sheldon fought an internal battle with himself until he realised that he wanted this too. He was a 34 year old virgin and he was most comfortable around Penny. He stood up and slowly edged towards her before bending his head and capturing her lips in a soft kiss, his hand resting on her waist. Without breaking their kiss, she led them to his bedroom and shut the door behind them. Tonight, she would show him what he had missed out on for the past 16 years. Tonight, she would make him a man.

**Well… betcha didn't see that coming xD Let me know what you think guys! Can't believe we're past 200 reviews already, thanks so much for committing two minutes of your time and letting me know your thoughts, it helps me write more efficiently and effectively. I know Sheldon and sex is a massive debate but I think if your gonna have a relationship with a woman who's a big ol' 5, it's gonna happen haha have a nice day and I will update soon! xx**


	21. Chapter 21

Sheldon stared at the ceiling as he lay in his bed, reliving the past half hour. He had engaged in coitus and it turned out that it wasn't as bad as he had thought it to be. Actually he had really enjoyed it and it sure as hell was something he would do again! Sure, it hadn't lasted very long because it was his first time but Penny said that was normal. Turning his head, he saw Penny's long blonde hair spread out on his pillow as she dozed with her head resting on his chest. He had theorised that Penny was good in bed and his theories turned out to be better than correct, he only wished he could do the same for her. Penny had introduced him to a physical relationship and in a way he was glad he waited so long. Gently removing Penny from his chest so that she was now resting her head on the pillow, he put his clothes back on and walked into the lounge, opening up his laptop.

He opened up "Google", contemplated on what to search and ended up typing in _How to please a woman in bed_. Grabbing a notepad and pen, he began to write down the tips that the many internet sites offered.

'Use toys? How can toys help?' Sheldon said to himself, clicking on the link, 'Oh! So that's what Kripke meant. How unsanitary… and to think I told him about the rocket next to my bed!' He scrunched his nose up as he muttered to himself. When the door knocked, Sheldon quickly shut his laptop and sighed with annoyance. Who called at 9 o clock at night? Opening the door, he was surprised to see Wolowitz and Koothrapali standing there.

'What are you doing here?' Sheldon asked.

'Well, we thought we should have a late lad's night.' Wolowitz smiled, 'Obviously, it's going to be weird now that Leonard isn't here but oh well we can still have fun.'

'What did you want to do?' Sheldon asked as they both walked into the apartment and sat down.

'Well, I thought it would be a good idea to try out…. Wait for it…. 5D chess! We've conquered 3D chess, we've kicked 4D chess' butt and now, it's time for the game that has not even been released in stores yet. Bernie's cousin was on the design team and asked me to try out the prototype.'

'Well, it seems like an interesting idea to test out.' Sheldon said.

'Are you kidding? It is amazing!' Raj cried and Wolowitz smiled

'Thank you Raj… see Sheldon… would it kill you to show some enthusiasm?'

'Well, I was busy before you arrived and you interrupted what I was doing with your arrival.' Sheldon groaned.

'What could you possibly be doing in this apartment on your own that's so important it rules out 5D chess?' Howard asked and Sheldon opened his mouth, only to have someone else speak for him.

'Sheldon, honey… come back to bed, I miss you.'

Raj and Howard's jaws dropped as they saw a dishevelled and near naked Penny standing in one of Sheldon's t-shirts at the exit of the lounge rubbing her eyes.

'You dog.' Wolowitz punched Sheldon's arm. Penny's eyes widened when she saw Raj and Howard and she immediately hid behind the pillar.

'What are you guys doing here? Get out!' Penny yelled and Howard laughed.

'Alright, we'll get out of your hair.' Howard said, 'though on a serious note we do need to play 5D chess, so we'll be back tomorrow.'

'Have a good night Sheldon.' Raj winked as they left and Sheldon shut the door behind them.

'Are they gone?' Penny asked, peeking her head around the corner before emerging into full view. Sheldon smiled at her and strode over to her, it was time to test out some of those tips that the internet offered. He grabbed her hand and pulled her back into the bedroom. 'My, my Sheldon. Have I unleashed something in you?'

'I don't know, perhaps we should find out?' he said and Penny grinned before nodding and following suit. 30 minutes later, Sheldon found himself back in the same position: breathing heavily and staring at the ceiling, only this time Penny was awake and doing exactly the same as him.

'Wow, where did you get those sort of moves from in the space of an hour?' Penny asked, breathing equally as heavily as both she and Sheldon lay next to each other.

'Well, the internet does have some interesting sites.' Sheldon chuckled. Penny raised an eyebrow, turning on her side to face him, propping herself up via her elbow.

'Did you look at any dodgy sites?'

'If you're referring to me looking at any pornographic material, you're mistaken. I do not enjoy looking at things like that, nor do I think they should be broadcasted.'

'Sheldon, there's nothing wrong with watching a little porn every now and then… lots of people do it.' Penny laughed.

'I don't see why. The only naked person I want to see, aside from myself, is you.' Sheldon frowned and Penny smiled before gently kissing him.

'That's really sweet Sheldon.' She whispered against his lips. Penny looked at her boyfriend, for a tall skinny guy, she was surprised to find that he had muscles and he definitely had "aesthetically pleasing genitals" as he had once stated. Sure he didn't have a six pack, but it was nice to know he had something there rather than just skin and bones.

'Well it's the truth.'

'So what shall we do tomorrow?' Penny asked.

'Well… I need to apply for a grant so I can get funding for a hypothesis I have on string theory. If I get it and my hypothesis proves correct… I could change the way physicists look at science. I could even win a Nobel Prize. When I get it, I know that I will definitely have a lot of work to do.'

'Well don't forget about me and I'll burn your lab to the ground.'

'I think you mean or.'

Penny shook her head, 'What does it matter, I've just had sex twice in one night… I'm too tired to think about grammar.'

'Well, it seems like a pretty crucial conjunction to me.' Sheldon said, ignoring her look of annoyance. She sighed and just went along with it.

'Fine, don't forget about me OR I'll burn your lab to the ground.'

'How could I forget about you?' Sheldon grinned, rolling over so he was on top of her. Penny smiled and wound her arms around his neck, kissing him softly. Her heart beat swiftly as she contemplated on revealing what she was about to reveal to him. It could end very badly, but it could also end extremely well.

'Sheldon… I know we haven't been together long but the past few weeks I've been with you… I've never been happier. Ever since that dreaded day with Leonard, you've been there for me. Ever since you came into my life, you've been the only person I can truly trust. We've had our ups and we've had our downs but you've always been there, you've been my best friend since the day I moved here. And when I discovered my romantic attraction to you had started before I had even realised it existed, it seemed that every day that had passed and every day since… knowing that you weren't mine, that I couldn't hold you, kiss you, be with you… it made me die a little inside each time.'

Sheldon sensed something was up from her tone of voice, from the way she clung onto him as if she never wanted to let go. He could feel her pulse quicken and her heart beat fasten.

'What do you mean?'

'I love you.' She said in a hushed whisper, gazing at him.

Sheldon was shocked and found it difficult to find the right words to say. He looked at her, searching her eyes deeply before whispering softly to her, 'You love me?' He frowned and looked away for a second before returning his gaze back to her, 'Penny…' he started but she cut him off.

'Sheldon, I truly… deeply and ardently… love you.' Her voice cracked as she spoke and Sheldon felt butterflies form in his stomach and he slowly bent his head and kissed her again. 'I know you don't know what it feels like to love someone, so I'm not expecting you to say anything. I just wanted you to know how I feel.' Penny smiled after the kiss broke.

'Thank you Penny.' He said, rolling off her and bringing her into a strong cuddle. Soon, she drifted off into a peaceful slumber before Sheldon soon followed, dreaming about his Penny.

**Sorry for the late update… been ill so I hope it's ok. Thanks for all reviews and your patience and hope to hear on what you thought of the chapter xx**


	22. Chapter 22

'So your rehearsals for the show begin today.' Sheldon smiled, looking at Penny, who was standing in his kitchen making breakfast, 'Are you excited?'

'Actually, I'm quite nervous.' Penny said, stuffing a pop tart in her mouth before swallowing it down with a cup of tea, 'I mean this is Broadway we're talking about… what if I get fired on my first day? What if I'm not good enough? What if…'

'Penny, stop this wittering. If you weren't good enough, you wouldn't have been chosen. You won't be fired on your first day… be strong, be confident and believe in yourself; because I do.' Sheldon said, looking at the newspaper and taking a bite of his fibrous breakfast cereal. He had engaged in coitus with Penny all night last night to calm her nerves; it felt almost strange that he had been involved in a physical relationship with Penny for two weeks now. 'Now, I need you to help me with something.'

Penny walked over, so she was positioned behind him and draped her arms around his neck, kissing his cheek, 'What's up buttercup?'

'I need to advertise for a new roommate, I need you to help me find a suitable applicant.'

'What, why?' Penny gasped, moving away from him. A roommate would ruin everything! She liked it the way it was now.

'Having to pay for the apartment drains too much of my savings that I use on merchandise, comic books, games and take out. I need someone to share with so I'm afraid you'll have to start moving some of your stuff back to your apartment.' Sheldon said, turning on the bar stool to face Penny.

'Why?'

'Because any potential roommate needs to see that this apartment isn't infested with feminine objects.'

'Feminine objects?' Penny smirked, crossing her arms and leaning on one leg.

'Yes, feminine objects,' Sheldon repeated. Penny bit her lip, she felt like she did when she admitted her love for him, sure he hadn't said it back yet but she didn't want their situation to change. She loved being with him and she'd known him for 6 years. Then again maybe it was too soon to suggest it but she found that her mouth was three seconds ahead of her brain and before she knew it she was speaking and it was too late to go back now.

'Well, what if I brought more of my feminine stuff over here?'

'Penny, why on earth would you do that? You have an apartment already and I need to keep this place clutter free until I have a new suitable roommate.'

'Ok, well what if I brought all of my things over here then?'

Sheldon frowned, 'You'd be going back and forth all the time… Penny I fail to see your logic because that doesn't make any sense. I guess that's what community college does to you.'

Penny scoffed, amazed at the fact that he had four doctorates and a PhD yet he still didn't grasp the simplest of things. 'Alright, how about I move in with you, I live with you as your partner and you understand what I'm saying?'

Sheldon frowned and raised an eyebrow, 'It's plausible. Perhaps you could give me a bit more perspective though. Why should I let you move in with me?' Penny walked slowly over to him before perching herself on his lap. She decided to use a quote from one of her favourite movies by her favourite actor. She had always wanted to use a movie quote in real life and what better chance to use a bit of influence from Jack Sparrow.

'Curiosity. You're going to want it. You'll get the chance to live with me and gain the rewards that follow,' she said, her mouth extremely close to his.

'And what rewards are those?' He asked, his voice quiet as he tucked her hair behind her ear and looked into her eyes.

'Well, you'll have to wait to find out and when you do, you won't be able to resist. You'll want to know what it's like because that's how your ingenious brain works.' Her lips gently grazed his for a fraction of a second and she saw his lip curl upwards into a smug smirk.

'Alright then, as long as you don't leave the place a mess, I suppose I can allow you to live with me. And you can't redecorate too much either. I'm very happy with the layout of my, I mean our, apartment.' Sheldon smiled and Penny squealed, throwing her arms around him.

'Sheldon, I love you!'

'I know, I know,' he said, patting her back, 'well I guess I'm moving in.' Penny grinned, jumping off of Sheldon and doing her own happy dance, 'I'm so excited!'

'I can tell, you're like Santa Claus on Prozac at Disney Land.' Sheldon said, folding his arms in bemusement. Penny laughed at him.

'Oh Sheldon, you do make me laugh.' She grinned before looking at the clock, 'Shit! I'm late!' She quickly grabbed an apple before kissing Sheldon on the cheek, 'bye sweetie, see you tonight!' she grabbed her coat from the chair, slung it on and ran out the door, yelling "Love You" as it shut. Sheldon chuckled to himself before sipping his juice carton. It was funny to think how much he had changed since he had embraced life with Penny. He was far more relaxed, he was having sex, he was dating a beautiful woman and she truly made his day better. Washing up his breakfast bowl, he sat down at his laptop and opened his e-mail. To his delight, he had managed to obtain the grant he had applied for; his Nobel Prize was on the horizon and he could almost feel it in his grasp.

* * *

Over the next few days, Penny gradually moved her stuff into Sheldon's apartment, relinquished her lease on her old place and change her address so that she now lived at 4A. Both she and Sheldon decided that the second bedroom would be converted into a spare room for any guests they might have. Though whilst Sheldon thought of guests, Penny thought of the children that she and Sheldon might have; she was pretty sure that Sheldon was the man she wanted to settle down with now. Their kids would be smart and beautiful and she would be proud to say she had achieved something spectacular in life. Sure, Broadway was great but having a family would be better.

The rehearsals for the show were going really well and Sheldon was right, although she didn't have centre stage, being an Understudy was just as good. The stage director told her that she would be performing on stage twice a month for as long as the show lasted. Although it wasn't much, she still would be able to perform on stage and that made her happy. Whilst Penny practiced for Broadway, Sheldon worked continuously on proving his theory correct and every day, more and more results came and proved that his hypothesis was correct which meant his Nobel Prize was drawing closer and closer.

Today was their official two month anniversary and Penny was cooking a delicious homemade Thai meal. When Sheldon came home and opened the door to the smell of Penny's food, his mouth watered.

'Wow, something smells delicious!' he smiled, taking off his coat and sitting down on his spot. Penny dished him up a plate of Mee Krob, Chicken Satay with a homemade Peanut sauce and Cashew Chicken.

'Happy Anniversary Sheldon,' she said, quickly kissing him before joining him.

'Mmm, it's delicious. I must say you culinary skills are much improved, so thank you Penny.'

'I also have another present for you,' she smiled.

'Oooh what is it?'

'Guess?'

'Ok, you decided to go out into the hallway, stumbled into an interdimentional portal which brought you 5000 years into the future where you took advantage of the advanced technology to build a time machine and now you're back to bring us all to the year 70-14 to which we are all put to work at a thinkatoriam which are run by telepathically controlled flying dolphins?'

Penny gawked at him, 'Er no… what on earth made you guess that?'

'I tried it with Leonard once, his answer was the same. So until it happens, I'm just going to keep guessing it. Hopefully luck will be on my side.'

'O…K… moving on. My present for you is my nice new outfit for you which I want to test in the bedroom.'

'Alright, I shall give you my honest opinion, though I think everything looks nice on you. Is it for any sort of formal occasion?'

'Really Sheldon? It's our anniversary! It's a sexy outfit for you so you'd best appreciate it.'

'Ohhhhhh, I see… well of course I'll enjoy it. Especially if it's on you.' He smiled. Suddenly there was a knock on the door. Penny frowned and put her plate down. She walked over to the door and opened it, gasping when it revealed a tearstained Priya.

**Uh oh… what does Priya want and why do you think she's crying? Take a guess my lovely reviewers, I look forward to reading them :] Thank you so much for your review so far, they make my day. I hope you enjoyed the chapter and will update soon! Have a nice day! xx**


	23. Chapter 23

'Priya? What are you doing here?' Penny asked, 'Are you ok?' As much as Penny wanted to shut the door in the face of the woman who had caused her pain, she knew she couldn't do that to someone who was extremely upset, not to mention pregnant. That would add karma.

'May I come in?' she hiccupped and Penny nodded, stepping aside. Sheldon looked up from his plate of food and almost choked as he saw her walk in. Penny gestured to her seat and Priya slowly sat in it, a tear falling down her cheek as she rested a hand on her tummy. 'Leonard left us.'

'What?' Penny gasped and Priya buried her face in her hands after throwing a note at Penny. She opened up the note and read it before passing it to Sheldon.

"_Priya,_

_I know I said I was ready to settle down and be a good partner and father to you and the baby. The fact of the matter is, I'm not. I know you love me and all but I can't do this. For starters, we both know you were sleeping with your ex around the same time I cheated on Penny with you so I know that your baby isn't mine and I don't want to be stuck raising another man's kid. Secondly, I'm too young to settle down and have a family; I haven't finished my research and I want to experiment with more women. So yeah, I guess that's it really. Have a nice life and I guess I'll see you around._

_Leonard."_

'I'm going to be a single mother; I don't want my baby growing up without a daddy,' Priya sobbed, 'I don't want to do this all by myself and I wasn't sleeping with Jamal. I haven't seen Jamal in 6 months, he's married now and has his own child on the way. When my parents find out, I'll be disowned or be forced to get married. How could he do this to me?! Especially after what we went through!'

Penny looked at Sheldon, who looked extremely angry, before continuing. 'I don't know Priya, did he give you any indication that he was unhappy?'

'No… He told me he loved me, he said we'd be a family and he was really excited for our baby.' Priya said, dabbing her eyes with the tissue that Penny handed her. As much as Penny didn't want to care, she knew she had to help Priya, thought she didn't understand why Priya had come to their apartment. She'd have to ask her at a more convenient time

'You won't raise this child alone Priya. Trust me, I'll make sure you're alright and I will personally have Leonard tracked down.'

Priya looked at Leonard's former girlfriend before looking away in guilt. 'I owe you an apology Penny. I should never have slept with Leonard whilst you were together. I knew you were going out with him and I still went and slept with him. I'm sorry.'

Penny sighed and nodded, 'It's alright, and I forgive you. Unfortunately we were both like two moths drawn to a flame and burned, only in different ways. If you and Leonard had never slept together, I would never have discovered what an amazing man Sheldon is and we would never have gotten together. In the long run, you're better off without him, Priya and we girls have to stick together now.' She smiled, taking Priya's hands, 'so I propose you stay the night tonight, just so you're not alone.'

Priya smiled and squeezed Penny's hands, 'Thank you Penny.' Penny returned the smile before looking over at Sheldon, who didn't look happy. She shot him a look, which Priya saw and she smiled to herself as it became fully obvious as to who wore the trousers in this relationship. Penny then showed Priya to her room and settled her in. When she had fallen asleep, Penny left the room and walked into the lounge.

'Well there goes our anniversary.' Sheldon whined and Penny sighed, wrapping her arm around him so she was hugging his torso. He, in turn, returned the favour and enveloped her in a strong hug. Penny breathed in his Sheldonness (as she liked to call it).

'Honey, we can celebrate it tomorrow when Priya leaves.'

'Orrr we could be really quiet.' Sheldon hinted, wiggling his eyebrows.

'You are but a shadow of the old Sheldon I used to know.'

'Am not, I'm just improved… thanks to you. I'm Sheldon 2.0,' he smiled and kissed her nose. Penny chuckled.

'I like you just the way you are.'

* * *

Leonard walked into one of the dodgy clubs, smiling at all the girls. Here he wasn't Leonard Hofstadter, experimental physicist at Caltech University, but Leonard Hofstadter: Male stud on the prowl. After a LOT of drinks and a couple of snogs with a few women, he found himself being handed a lit roll up of aluminium foil. Alarm bells started ringing in his head and he wasn't sure it was a good idea but everyone else seemed to be enjoying it, plus the hot girl said it was good and she was hot, so she had to be right.

'What is it?' he asked, still hesitating and debating whether or not he should take a drag.

'Just try it,' the girl laughed, taking a drag herself. Leonard quickly calculated his options of what he would be smoking and narrowed it down to one possibility: heroin. He knew heroin was an extremely addictive drug but what harm could one drag do? He had done weed before and hadn't got hooked on that so surely it was similar. Then again the anatomical structures were completely different, with heroin's being far more complex due to the dangerous chemicals involved. 'Leonard, just smoke it!'

'I…' Leonard started, letting his sensible side take over before stopping himself short. He was fun, cool Leonard tonight, screw what his brain was saying. He took the joint in his fingers before taking a deep drag and slipping into the feeling of Euphoria. The rest of the night was a blur and he found himself waking up in a hospital bed, 'What the hell?' he said, sitting up. He suddenly wished he hadn't… his head was seriously hurting and he found himself feeling very anxious, his pulse was erratic and his muscles hurt. 'What was I… oh God….' Leonard began to recall the events of last night; he had taken a lot, and he meant a LOT of heroin. He hoped this wasn't the start of an addiction because that was the last thing he wanted. Suddenly the door opened and Sheldon walked in, 'Sheldon, what are you doing here?' he gasped

'I'm your emergency contact. When I got a phone call at 6am this morning saying you had been brought into the emergency room due to intoxication, I nearly put down the phone, telling them to send you to alcoholics anonymous. However when I was told that you had a near lethal amount of heroin in your blood stream, I decided that perhaps I should come down and see if you were alright and try and talk sense into you.'

'Near lethal? Oh God,' Leonard rubbed his temples, 'So… how's Penny? Does she know?'

'Yes, as my other half and living partner, I thought she was entitled to know.'

'You two are living together?'

'Yes, but that's not the point. The point is that we are currently comforting Priya, who is devastated at your abandonment of her and your unborn child. You and I both know that that is your baby. All the dates match, so don't try and tell me otherwise.'

'Have you told her?'

'No, we decided against it. Though, I think we need to have a serious chat.'

'I guess… Sheldon, what if I'm addicted to heroin now? God, I'm stupid! What the hell was I thinking… I don't think I possess the strength or willpower to get over it. I'm gonna end up a junkie.. I'm an expert physicist! What was I thinking?!'

Sheldon sighed and drew a chair up beside Leonard's bed. 'Leonard, heroin addiction, or any addiction in fact, is not about lack of willpower or strength – it is a matter of science: if you put this drug in your system frequently enough… the body will begin to need it, and ultimately it will not be able to function without it. You've had a lot of heroin in your system, so naturally your body has adjusted to it, hence why you are feeling like you need it. Look, the strongest willed person in the world will become an addict if an addictive substance like heroin finds its way into their system often enough: addiction isn't a choice. Of course, there is a choice whether or not to take the drug so frequently in the first place, but the concept of 'physical' addiction before you have experienced it, well it's so abstract and hard to comprehend that most users go into it thinking addiction is about will-power and strength and believing they will be the one who'll be strong enough to control it.

'It's only when you learn just what is meant by physical addiction. When you understand that it is a biological process and not a mental one, it becomes obvious at how little chance you stand against it. It's only when one experiences physical dependency first hand that you realise how powerless you are. So when initially using a substance like heroin, there is no urgent need to show restraint or in trying to be strong. You believe using will always be about choice. That you'll use when you can and want to, and when you've had enough or don't have much money, you'll stop. Only all too often, by the time the user reaches that crossroads, it is too late as the body has by then become physically dependent on the biological changes the drug has brought about. Luckily for you though Leonard, I'm here to stage an intervention so you don't fall into this habit that could bring you spiralling downwards.'

'Why are you doing this? I thought our friendship was over.'

'Because Leonard, despite what you've done… I don't want to see you end up six feet under, especially not when you have a baby on the way.'

'That kid isn't mine.' Leonard huffed and Sheldon thumped his shoulder, 'Oww!'

'Of course that kid is yours. Look at your life Leonard! You're not young anymore! You aren't in your 20s, look at what trying to be someone you're not did to you! Lying in bed in a hospital! Next time you might not be so lucky to be discovered by a man walking his dog. You have to realise what you have now is a good thing Leonard. You have a woman who loves you; she is carrying your first child… you can start a family. If you're unsure about the baby, then get a bloody DNA test done after it's born. You have a well-paid career, a home with Priya. Don't chuck it away trying to chase a fantasy. You've had a taste of what being "young and hip" is like… now get a hold of yourself, because,' Sheldon sighed, opening the door to Leonard's room, 'If you don't want to help yourself, there's nothing I can do to help you.' Sheldon then shut the door, leaving Leonard with his thoughts.

**Hope you enjoyed the chapter. Just want to say, I don't condone drug use, however everyone is entitled to their own opinion on it. Let me know what you thought on the chapter :] Do you think Leonard will take the olive branch that Sheldon has thrown him? Next update will be soon! xx**


	24. Chapter 24

Leonard had been discharged from hospital and was now walking in silence alongside Sheldon. He had been prescribed some methadone to aid his new found addiction to heroin and had made a promise to himself to make sure he remained clean. He had also decided to accept Sheldon's help as this whole experience had been an eye opener for him. He didn't know what to do about Priya either, Sheldon had suggested that he not pursue anything romantic and Leonard decided that that was a good idea. Upon arrival at apartment 4A, Leonard couldn't help but miss the feeling of living there; it almost felt like old times. Sheldon placed his key in the door and opened it, walking inside, followed closely by Leonard.

Nothing much had changed in the apartment; there were a few more girly touches such as a vase of flowers standing in the corner and in the middle of the island in the kitchen. Penny walked into the room and stopped short when she saw Leonard standing sheepishly behind Sheldon.

'Thank you so much for letting me stay with you Penny, I…' Priya said, emerging from behind Penny. She trailed off when she saw Leonard and like Penny, just stopped and stared.

'Hi Priya.' Leonard said quietly, stepping forward towards her. Priya felt the blood rush through her veins as anger took over.

'You! You! You bastard! How dare you show yourself!' she yelled, grabbing the nearest thing to her and chucking it at him. Despite the fact it was only a pillow, Leonard still ducked.

'Priya, I'm so sorry… please forgive me!'

'How on earth can I forgive you! You don't know the meaning of the word sorry! You walked out on us! You denied our innocent unborn baby! I hate you! I HATE YOU!' Priya sobbed and Penny pulled her in for a hug.

'Calm down Priya, you don't want to put too much stress on yourself or the baby.' Penny said soothingly.

'May I speak to Priya please… alone.' Sheldon said suddenly and both Penny and Leonard looked at Sheldon in confusion before walking out of the apartment. Sheldon sat Priya down before taking a seat in his spot beside her. It was starting to feel like he was the mediator between everyone now. 'Priya, I understand that you are upset at Leonard but at the end of the day he is still the father of your child. You told me yesterday that you didn't want your child growing up without a father. Therefore I don't think pushing him out of your life is a good idea. I strongly recommend that you don't resume a romantic relationship but you need to make sure that you two are civil in each other's company for your child's sake.'

'Trust me Sheldon; picking up where we left off was definitely not one of the things that crossed my mind.' Priya sniffed, glaring at the door. Sheldon sighed a breath of relief and smiled at her.

'I know we haven't always seen eye to eye Priya but I think that you need to know that Leonard has spun out of control, he needs you more than you think.'

'Needs me? He needs me? Sheldon, he walked out on me! Why in the world should I help him?'

'Because you are carrying his child and if you want Leonard in your child's life, you have to help him!'

'Alright, fine…' Priya sighed, 'What's wrong with him.'

'I personally don't think it's a good idea for you to know what is wrong with him, however what I will tell you is that I picked him up from hospital this morning. If he wishes to tell you, then that is up to him.'

'Alright. I will try but so help me Sheldon, one wrong move and he will be out my front door. This is his last chance.' Priya said, staring at Sheldon dead in the eye. Sheldon nodded and called for Leonard and Penny to re-enter. Priya put her coat on and looked at Leonard, 'Leonard, we are going home and you are going to explain yourself. You are going to tell me everything and if you place one foot out of line, you're out.' She walked straight past him and left the apartment, not bothering to look if Leonard was even following.

'You had better go Leonard,' Penny said softly and Leonard nodded before offering his small thanks and following Priya out. Penny shut the door behind him and let out the breath she had been holding for what seemed like forever, 'Well that was tense, let's just hope that it gets Leonard on the road to recovery.'

'He'll get used to it and I hope so. Despite what happened with Leonard, he was a good friend to me and I don't want to see him die due to substance abuse.' Sheldon said, getting up and putting papers in his briefcase.

'Sheldon, you truly are amazing, did you know that?'

'I've been told.' He smiled and Penny smiled, shaking her head.

'Unbelievable.' She chuckled before going to the kitchenette to make a cup of tea. She had noticed that, since being with Sheldon, her alcohol intake had reduced significantly. She felt healthier, she looked healthier and she just felt better. Everything was just going upwards for her now, she just hoped that this streak continued.

'Right, I'm off to the lab… got some more discoveries to make, I'll see you later,' Sheldon said, kissing Penny quickly before popping on his jacket.

'See you later Moonpie.' Penny smiled as the door shut. Taking a sip of her tea, she looked at her script and began to memorise her lines. '_No Anna, I belong here. Alone. Where I can be who I am without hurting anybody_,' she recited, 'No that wasn't right: _No Anna, I belong here… Alone. Where I can be who I am without…hurting anybody_. That's the one.' She clicked her fingers in triumph before continuing to learn her script.

**I know it's short, I'm sorry haha, next chappie will be long for you I promise :] let me know what you guys thought xx**


	25. Chapter 25

'Penny!' The stage director yelled, 'Eva's lost her voice! We need you to step in as Elsa!' Penny was shocked. It was only the third show and already Eva, the actress who got to role of Elsa above her, was sick. She suddenly felt her heart beat faster and a wave of nervous nausea overcome her. This was it; she got to play a Disney Princess on Broadway! Well, until Eva's voice came back, which could be at anytime. Costume and makeup ran over to her, grabbing her and pulling her into the dressing room. Thank God she would be able to squeeze in a quick dress rehearsal before the sound checks started. Suddenly she found eight tickets being thrust into her hands by the director. 'Here, invite your friends, partner and family, whatever for your debut night.'

'Thank you!' She gasped, grabbing out her phone, she texted everyone, informing them that tonight would be her Broadway debut and that she had tickets for each one of them. 'Oh my God, I'm so excited!' she grinned before she found herself being ushered on stage for a final rehearsal.

It soon turned 7 o'clock and Penny felt her nerves take over. This was it, it was finally happening. Everything she had worked for was coming true. She was ready to make her mark on Broadway and give the performance of her life and knowing that her friends and the man she loved would be watching made it more special. She turned off her mobile phone and made her way to the stage. She could see Amy, Burt, Bernadette, Howard, Raj and Raj's new girlfriend Emily all sitting in their seats with their programmes and talking to each other. She even saw Leonard and a now 5 month's pregnant Priya also taking their seats. She smiled but it soon faded when she saw the empty seat beside Amy. Sheldon hadn't arrived yet, but he would come, she was sure of it. He would come.

'Penny! Take your place!' The stage director yelled at her and Penny quickly moved to where she had to be. Soon enough it began and Penny had never felt so important and she stood on stage, singing and acting. At intermission, there was still no sign of Sheldon and she quickly turned on her phone. Nothing. No texts, no missed calls, no voicemail, where was he? Soon enough she was needed back on stage and she had to put her dismay behind her; thank goodness the lights were bright enough she couldn't see her audience.

* * *

At ten past one in the morning, Penny entered her apartment, feeling extremely angry, hurt and let down.

'SHELDON! WHERE ARE YOU?! GET OUT OF BED!' she yelled, but there was no answer. She stormed into the bedroom and flicked on the light, however there was no sign of him. She was too angry to be worried about where he was and although she knew that was bad, she didn't care. At the moment she needed a drink. A strong drink. Angrily she turned to her "alcohol cupboard" that she had hidden under their bed. Taking out a bottle of tequila and a shot glass, she quickly downed six shots and she jumped when she heard the front door shut. Blind with rage, she ran into the front room to see Sheldon attempting to tiptoe towards the bedroom.

'Penny, what are you doing up?' he asked.

'Sheldon, I've been drinking tequila and have the strength of four Sumo Wrestlers right now so don't even try and be smart with me!'

'My genius mind has picked up that you angry with me, what seems to be the problem Penny?'

'Oh don't you dare try and be all calm and take the moral high ground. Did you know that tonight was my first performance on Broadway?'

'Yes, you texted me about it,' Sheldon said, sitting down in his spot. Penny was so angry she could feel the smoke screaming out of her ears.

'So… you knew and yet you didn't come to see it.'

'Penny, I'm on the verge of a breakthrough with my work, of fulfilling my lifelong dream. You didn't state it to be compulsory for me to attend.'

'Sheldon, I am your girlfriend… no, I am your PARTNER! Your other half! I love you! I have lifelong dreams too and tonight it actually happened! I acted professionally and got paid a lot for it for the first time! The number of times you mocked me for it, the number of times you put me down! And when it finally happens for me, where are you?' Penny yelled, 'At your lab… working.' Her voice softened as tears of anger and frustration mixed with sadness found their way down her cheeks. Sheldon bit his lip, feeling bad. He hadn't meant to cause this much anguish to his girlfriend, 'Even Leonard was there Sheldon. My cheating ex-boyfriend saw my dream come true but my actual boyfriend didn't.' She said quietly, sniffing and wiping her eyes. 'I'm going to bed.' She turned to go and Sheldon got up to follow. Sensing his intentions, she whipped around, glared at him and pointed her finger at him as she spoke, 'DON'T follow me.' She hissed before walking away.

Sheldon sighed. Why couldn't Penny understand? He was about to prove String Theory for heaven's sake. He had spent a majority of his life trying to prove its existence and to be so close gave him the motivation to keep going. Sheldon sighed and walked into the spare room. He drew back the covers and put on the spare pair of pyjamas that he kept in the guest wardrobe. He tried to get comfortable but the bed was somehow uncomfortable and he was so used to sleeping next to Penny now that it was strange not to have her beside him. He had to admit that this was probably their worst fight, they had had bigger but never this serious. She had never kicked him out their bedroom before, so he would definitely have to make it up to her. It was a sleepless night for Sheldon and he ended up getting dressed again and going back to work on his laptop.

When Penny got up, after also having a poor night's sleep, she walked into the living room to see Sheldon asleep at his desk. She was still angry at Sheldon, so she made no effort to talk to him when he woke due to her clattering around in the kitchen.

'Hey Penny,' he said softly, however he received no response, 'Penny… I'm really sorry.'

'Yeah well, that's a saying I've heard before.' Penny spat, popping her bread into the toaster.

'I truly am Penny, please. I'll be there tonight, I promise.'

'Whatever Sheldon, show up, don't show up… I don't care.' Penny growled. Sheldon got up and walked over to her.

'You do care Penny, I know you do. I promise, I will be there tonight.' Sheldon whispered, kissing her neck, her cheek and then moving to her forehead. Penny sighed and relented, letting him kiss her lips.

'It really hurt to know that you weren't there Sheldon. You've supported me with everything but to know that you weren't there to support me on the first time I was going to be on stage… it killed me inside.'

'I'm so sorry Penny. I promise I will be there, I promise.'

'Well promise all you want, I might not even be performing tonight. Eva might have got her voice back and…' Penny was cut off by the sound of her cell ringing. The song that Sheldon had written for her rung out and Sheldon smiled at it. 'Hello? Yes, this is Penny Miller speaking… oh hey Steve… what? Really! Are you serious! Oh wow that's amazing! Thank you… I'll see you in a couple of hours, alright bye!'

'Well?'

'That was the director of the show… I got an amazing review, better than the two that Eva did and they've decided to replace her with me. So she will be the understudy and I will be the lead!'

'Oh my goodness that's amazing!' Sheldon cried, hugging his girlfriend tight.

'Say you'll come tonight, please…'

'Of course I will, I promise.' Sheldon kissed her softly.

'It's funny to think that a few months ago, I thought I would never get my big break. I was one person out of seven billion, on one out of eight planets, in one star system out of a hundred billion star systems, in one galaxy out of a hundred billion galaxies. I felt so insignificant!' Penny laughed, pushing her hair back and placing a hand on her hip before realising what she just said, 'Wow, I've hung out with you nerds for way too long. Some of your sciencey stuff has actually stuck in my brain!'

Sheldon laughed and cupped Penny's face with one hand, 'Out of a hundred billion galaxies that exist in a hundred billion star systems, out of seven billion people… Penny, you have your own unique genetic makeup, your thumbprint is yours alone, you can create art and write songs, you can sing and act. You are depended upon by others that love you so you are enormously significant.'

'Sheldon, you know you come out with the sweetest of things sometimes.' Penny laughed, kissing him softly.

* * *

Sheldon's jaw dropped as he saw the results of his experiments finally pull through. He had finally proven string theory! This would surely bring him the Nobel Prize, oh there was no doubt about that. He had done it! He had fulfilled his lifelong dream; over 20 years of tireless work had finally paid off. He picked up the phone and called all the science associations and by the sixth phone call, his eyes happened to pass over the clock. 7.23pm. Sheldon's jaw dropped. No! He couldn't miss Penny's show again, not after how angry she had been at him this morning and late last night!

He grabbed his jacket, wallet and ticket and ran. He even got in a dreaded taxi! Upon arrival he arrived at the doors to be stopped by an usher.

'Can I help you sir?'

'I need to get in there.'

'I'm sorry sir but the show started at 7 o'clock, I'm afraid I can't let you in.'

'What about at the intermission?'

'I'm sorry sir, but it does state on the back of your ticket that you must adhere to the time given on your ticket. Final entries are at 6.45pm, the time is now 7.38pm, you are nearly an hour late and therefore I cannot grant you access.'

'Look, my girlfriend is the star of that show! She will murder me if I don't see it!' Sheldon cried, pointing to Penny's picture in the programme he had purchased.

'You're going out with Penny Miller? Wow she's hot!'

'I know, now will you let me in?'

'Sorry sir, I'm afraid I can't.'

'Well will you at least let me listen?' Sheldon growled and begrudgingly the usher agreed, never taking his eye of Sheldon in fear of that he might try to sneak in. Sheldon smiled as he listen to Penny sing and speak her lines. All that practicing, all those lessons, they had really paid off and after what seemed like a lifetime, the show was finally over.

Sheldon rushed to the backstage entrance and stood there for at least an hour before Penny emerged. The second she saw him, she rolled her eyes, pulled up the collar of her coat and walked off.

'Penny please! Wait!'

'Piss off Sheldon!'

'Penny, stop!' Sheldon cried, grabbing her hand.

'You promised Sheldon! You promised!'

'I'm sorry! I made a breakthrough! I managed to prove the existence of string theory and I tried to get in, truly I did but that usher, John, he wouldn't let me in. I didn't see it but I heard it.'

'Look forget it Sheldon! I don't care anymore. Just… leave me alone.' Penny sneered, pulling her hand vigorously away from Sheldon. He had no choice but to watch her walk away from him. Kicking the lamp post with his foot, he cursed before making his way home. Upon arrival, he found that Penny too was home and was giving him the cold shoulder, 'Penny, we need to talk about this.'

'There's nothing to say.' Penny said in a monotonous voice. He discovered that that was the most he would get out of her for the next three days. Whilst he was bombarded with interviews and proposals from all different companies and lawyers, Penny worked tirelessly on her production. He was shocked when he came home one day and he found her sitting there waiting for him, 'Hello Sheldon.'

'Heya, so are you going to talk to me now.'

'Yes, but I only have one thing I need to say to you.' Penny said softly, clasping her hands together. Sheldon sat opposite her. 'Congratulations on proving String Theory Sheldon, but I think that we both know that we've gone as far as we can go.'

'Well not really, we're at the height of our careers now, things can only go up from here.' Sheldon said.

'No, that's not what I meant. When people ask me how things are with you, I used to say they're great, I love him so much. They ask me how could I live with you with your strict schedules, isn't it weird? And I say no it's not because it works for me, because I love being with you but you know what? It doesn't anymore. In fact it's the opposite of working! I thought being with you made sense but all I know now is that it just doesn't. I've been the star of "Frozen" for four days now and you could have come and seen it, but you didn't. Amy has been there every time, Bernadette and Howard have seen it twice and even LEONARD has seen it twice! Leonard, Sheldon! Leonard has seen it more times than you. Yet my boyfriend, my partner, the guy I LIVE with! He cannot be asked to give up three hours of his evening to see me perform on stage. I… I can't do this anymore Sheldon.' Penny said, exasperated. Sheldon stared at her in shock.

'Are you… terminating our understanding of one another?' he asked and Penny nodded.

'I have too… I'll look for a new place as soon as I've got my paycheck.'

'Penny… please don't. I need you, I love you.' Sheldon cried. Penny shook her head. That was the first time he had ever said "I love you" to her, but it was too late. As much as she wanted to give in, forgive him and say I love you back, she couldn't. With Sheldon, his work came first and it always would. She had to remain strong though, supressing the feeling of needing to bawl her eyes out. Maybe they would get back together, maybe they wouldn't but at the moment, she couldn't deal with Sheldon. She needed her space, she needed to be single and concentrate on her work.

'I'm sorry Sheldon, it's over.'

**So a nice long chapter for you guys. Thanks for all your reviews so far, hopefully we can make 250 reviews *crosses fingers* Let me know what you thought of the chapter and I'll update as soon as I can xx**


	26. Chapter 26

It had been extremely awkward over the past week. Penny had moved into the spare bedroom, she and Sheldon didn't exchange words and Penny felt as if a light had gone out in her life. Sheldon spent a lot of time at the lab now and sometimes he even slept there so she wouldn't see him at all.

_Knock Knock Knock_

Penny's ears pricked up when she heard a knock on the door. A part of her hoped to hear Sheldon say her name but it didn't happen. Obviously, he wasn't coming home again tonight. He probably had another interview or something. She had to keep reminding herself that she had made the right decision but at times, she really did think she had acted too rashly. The person on the other side knocked again, bringing Penny out of her thoughts. Opening the front door, she saw the smiling face of Leonard.

'Oh, hi Leonard, what do you want?'

'Well, today is my 3 month of being clean and I was wondering if you wanted to accompany me for a meal. Just as friends ofcourse.'

'Why don't you bring Priya?'

'She said she's not feeling well, you know being 5 months pregnant and all.' Leonard said and Penny sighed. She had to get out of the flat anyway, there was no point sitting there on her own.

'Alright, let's go.' She said, grabbing her jacket. It felt weird being with Leonard again, it felt almost like old times. She opened the door to his car and sat down, buckling her seatbelt. As soon as she looked up, she saw Sheldon crossing the street and walking towards the apartment. She prayed he wouldn't see her in Leonard's car but unfortunately he did. She saw him stop in his tracks and watched as Leonard got in and drove them away. If he had felt anything on the subject, he definitely didn't show it. He just kept walking.

'Listen Penny, I'm sorry things didn't work between you and Sheldon.'

'Yeah, well me too.' Penny sighed and Leonard bit his lip. The rest of the ride was in silence and when they arrived at the restaurant, they were seated in the bar until a table was free. Penny walked straight over to the bar and spoke to the bartender whilst Leonard tried to barter for a table.

'I'll have a sex on the beach.' Penny ordered.

'It's on me.' A new voice said. Penny looked to her right to see a handsome man standing there. He had dark brown locks that swept over his face and intense green eyes that made her blink twice just to make sure he was real.

'Th-thank you.' She smiled.

'Anytime,' the guy grinned, 'My name's Jason, Jason Briggs.' He put his hand out and Penny gently shook it.

'Penny, Penny Miller.'

'Haha, like the Broadway star. My sister went to see her and said she was really good.' Jason laughed and Penny blushed.

'Well…' she trailed off and looked at him.

'No. Way. You're the Penny Miller!'

'That's my name,' she laughed, 'don't wear it out.'

'Wow, well I have to treat you to a meal.' He smiled as he handed over the money for her drink to the bartender.

'Oh actually, I'm here with my friend so I… Ok, fine let's go.' She said as Jason slipped a dollar to the waiter, which got them seated immediately. Leonard gawked at her and she shrugged, mouthing sorry at him. Sighing he turned around and decided to go home and look after Priya instead. He had really tried to make an effort because he realised that he had to man up and be a father and in the process he had managed to gain back all his friends. Sure he had had his setbacks but Priya had helped him through the bad times immensely well. He had not fallen off the wagon, nor had he used the prescribed medicine. He had just gone cold turkey and his withdrawal symptoms had been particularly bad at some points. However, Priya had been there to support him, as had his friends and he was particularly happy that he was now off of Sheldon's "Mortal Enemy" list and that was his biggest achievement.

Meanwhile, the waiter handed Penny and Jason their menus. Jason quickly scanned the menu before shutting it.

'So, I guess I've never met someone in a bar and immediately been whisked away to a meal five minutes later.' She said softly and Jason laughed.

'There's a first time for everything Penny. I must say, I've never met anyone as beautiful as you.' He smiled as the waiter came over.

'Are you ready to place your orders?'

Penny opened her mouth to order but Jason got in there first. 'I'll have the five spiced dusted fillet of salmon with Asian vegetables and the sweet chilli dressing and my date here will have the breast of chicken tarragon mousse with errrr theeeee pomme puree and buttered savoy in a white wine jus.' Jason smiled shutting the menu and giving it back to the waiter. Penny was slightly shocked that he had ordered for her but she didn't say anything, 'I'm really good at picking out food, I can tell what people will like instantly.' He smiled.

'Well, I guess it's nice not to have to think about what I want to order for once.' Penny smiled, sipping her Sex on the Beach. The next couple of hours flew by and Penny found herself having a great time with Jason. At the end of the date, he drove her home and she gave him her number. It was weird that she wasn't going on a date with Sheldon but it was nice going back into the dating scene with someone who was completely normal.

When she got back into the apartment, she saw Sheldon sitting at his desk and by the looks of it he was in a conference call. However she soon found he wasn't, he was actually playing World of Warcraft. 'Sheldor of Azeroth is AFK,' he said before turning to look at Penny, 'So enjoy your date with Leonard?' he spat.

'I didn't go on a date with him Sheldon. He asked would I accompany him for a meal to celebrate his 3 months clean mark but we weren't able to get a table. So he went home and I decided to walk back.' Penny said, deciding it probably wouldn't be a good idea to tell him she'd met someone a week after their break up. She was kind of surprised that she had been on a date with a stranger so soon when she still found that she had feelings for Sheldon but she doubted anything would happen with this guy. Penny walked past Sheldon and went to her bedroom, opening up her laptop, putting in her headphones and looking for new apartments.

Sheldon sighed, he missed kissing her and sleeping beside her. He found himself reverting back to his old structured ways and that he didn't want to have coital relations with any other woman. His body belonged to Penny and to no one else. He had tried talking to Amy about it but she was firmly on Penny's side. Suddenly the telephone rang but Sheldon decided not to answer it so it went straight to voicemail.

'_Hi Penny, it's Jason… Jason from the bar? I really enjoyed our dinner together this evening and was wondering if you wanted to go out on a date sometime. I forgot to give you my number when you gave me yours so if you could give me a call back on 555-0193 that would be great. I look forward to hearing from you. Ok, bye.'_

Sheldon looked at the telephone set and frowned. So Penny had been on a date but just not with Leonard. Getting up, he replayed the message and he couldn't help but feel a bit betrayed by Penny. Their relationship had only finished a week ago yet already she was gallivanting off with strange men! He walked over to the machine and left his finger to hover over the delete button, debating whether or not he should delete the message.

"_Message. Deleted." _

Sheldon let out the breath he had been holding. Penny wouldn't ever find out, unless the guy called again. He would have to keep an eye on the machine and make sure that there were never any messages for her.

* * *

The next few days went by quickly and each morning Penny woke up wondering if she would have a message from Jason yet. She walked over to the machine to see if there were any messages but there was nothing. Sheldon watched her check the machine before staring back at the TV and continuing his gaming. Penny could feel the air was tense and she sighed before trying to lighten the atmosphere.

'So, today's a nice day. I think I might go for a walk.' Penny smiled, trying to strike up conversation.

'What part of that statement was supposed to lure me into conversation?' Sheldon asked, not removing his eyes from the screen as he battered a zombie.

'I was just trying to talk to you,' Penny sighed and she watched the game's cutscene play as Sheldon completed the level. Two of the character's hugged and she smiled but Sheldon grimaced.

'Why do people have to hug all the time? It's such an invasion of personal space.'

'Sheldon, if I recall you and I used to hug a lot when we were together. I think hugging is very healthy. I read somewhere that if you have physical contact on a regular basis; it can actually extend your life.' She smiled; glad they were finally making conversation.

'Well in that case, you'll outlive Styrofoam.' Sheldon said as the cutscene finished. Penny rolled her eyes and left the apartment. As she walked down the street, a car pulled over and Jason stepped out.

'Penny! I thought that was you. I called you the other night after our dinner but you never called me back!'

'You did?' Penny frowned and Jason nodded.

'Yes, I left you a message and everything. I was wondering if you wanted to go out sometime.'

'Sure, I'm free tonight if you want,' Penny smiled.

'Well, here's my number if you need to call me, hopefully your machine won't play up again,' Jason handed over his business card and Penny took it graciously.

'I wonder why I never got that message. My roommate only buys the most reliable of…' Penny trailed off as she realised what could have happened, 'technology.' She said quietly.

'What's wrong?'

'Nothing, I er… I need to ask my roommate something. Pick me up at 7 ok?' Penny smiled before marching back into the building. She threw the door open so it slammed against the wall and knocked down Sheldon's prized Game of Thrones Valerian replica sword.

'AHH! Watch it Penny!' he yelled, jumping up, 'That was $500! Just because you don't care for prize merchandise or collectors items and would rather give your number out to strange men at bars doesn't give you the right to knock them over.'

'How do you know I gave my number to a guy at the bar?' Penny growled. Sheldon looked like a deer caught in the headlights but decided it wasn't worth trying to make up an elaborate lie.

'Because he called here and left a voicemail for you! We've been apart for just over a week and a half Penny and already you're hitting the bars and giving your number out. Did our relationship mean nothing to you? If you had told me, I would have been sad yes but you don't even have the courtesy to tell me!'

Penny folded her arms and looked at Sheldon, 'What happened to that voicemail? Why didn't I get it?' she asked. Sheldon suddenly realised that he had landed himself in even more trouble.

'W-what?'

'From Jason. You know, the guy from the bar? Why didn't I get the voicemail he left for me?'

'Because…. I deleted it and sent it into… subspace?' Sheldon said, knowing he had been caught out, 'Did you… um did you not look there?'

Penny glared at him, 'Sheldon.'

Sheldon let out a sigh of defeat and looked at her, 'I didn't want you to get it OK! So… I deleted it. I thought if I did that, maybe we could try again and get back together.'

'I don't believe this… I…' Penny found herself struggling for words as she looked at Sheldon, 'Who do you think you are?'

'I'm Sheldon Cooper, brilliant physicist and…'

'No Sheldon, who the hell do you think you are to tell me who I can see and who I can't see. Who are you to tell me what messages I should and should not get? I cannot believe you sometimes Sheldon.' Penny yelled. Suddenly Howard and Raj strolled in and interrupted them. They soon realised that they had walked into a middle of an argument and were unsure of how to proceed.

'Hey guys, what's cooking?' Howard asked awkwardly and Penny rolled her eyes.

'Not now Howard, Sheldon and I are in the middle of a serious conversation.' Penny said.

'Oh, anything we can do to help?' Raj asked and Penny looked at Sheldon before looking back at Raj and Howard.

'I don't know do you have any chloroform and a rag? Or maybe a baseball bat?' she asked and somehow all three men understood that Penny was severely pissed at Sheldon. Penny opened her mouth to speak when the phone rang. 'Hello?' she asked, 'Leonard, slow down, what's up. What? Ok, we'll meet you there as soon as we can.'

'What's wrong?' Howard asked.

'Priya's gone into labour.'

**Hiya guys, thank you for all your reviews. A couple were quite interesting, especially in regards to Broadway. I'm only from England so I didn't actually know Broadway was just in New York, when I did a google search it said they held Broadway productions in California. So I guess I've learnt something new :] If they don't, I'm not too keen on rewriting the story lol so let's just say for now they do. Maybe I'll make Penny move to New York or something as the show moves there too. Anyway thank you for the constructive criticism, I will take it to good use :] I hope this chapter is better for you all, so let me know what you think, have a nice day! xx**


	27. Chapter 27

After Penny had phoned up and apologised to Jason, telling him as to why she couldn't go out for dinner due to Priya going into labour, all four of them hopped into Penny's car as she raced to the hospital. Upon arrival at the maternity ward, they were greeted by Leonard who was sitting next to Priya and holding her hand as she lay in her bed moaning in pain.

'Alright Priya, you're 4cm dilated. A few more to go and you'll be ready.' The nurse said and Priya cried out in pain.

'Please, can't you stop me from having this baby? I'm only 22 and a half weeks, she's not ready to be born.' Priya sobbed and Penny immediately ran to her side and took her other hand. Raj followed suit but just knelt.

'You're gonna be ok Priya, you're gonna have a beautiful baby girl soon.'

'No... she's too early!' Priya scrunched her face up in pain.

'I'm sorry Ms Koothrapali, but there's not much I can do.' The nurse said softly.

'Then get me a fricking epidural-ahhhhhhhh!' Priya cried, tears leaking out the side of her face.

'Ms Koothrapali, we advise that you have the epidural when you are at least 6cm dilated because that is when your contractions start to become more painful.'

'Ohhhh nothing can be worse than this.' Priya moaned feeling slightly disorientated, 'Please, just give me the epidural.'

The nurse nodded and went to fetch the equipment. After giving it to Priya, she began to calm down a lot as the pain started to subside. Leonard sighed and readjusted his glasses, 'I'm sorry for knocking you up Priya.' He said softly.

'Oh trust me Leonard, when you get in the delivery room… _then_ you'll be sorry. Ugh, I am never getting pregnant again!' She said through gritted teeth, 'Ugh, why does she want to come out now? She's three and half months early.'

Penny got up and soaked a cloth, dabbing her forehead, 'She's obviously really excited to meet you, and how are you feeling Raj? You're going to be an uncle!'

'Slightly nervous to be honest; I can't believe she's coming so early though.' Raj smiled excitedly at his sister.

'You're not the one who has to push her out though.' Priya sobbed, throwing her head back in pain as a contraction came, 'nurse, please tell me I'm ready to go into delivery.' The nurse checked and shook her head.

'I'm sorry, you're still 4cm.'

'Ugh!'

Priya remained in labour for the next 12 hours. 'God! She's 4 months early for God's sake! Can't I just squeeze her out or something?' Priya moaned, 'I can't take this anymore.'

'You're doing great Priya,' Penny said softly. Only she, Leonard and Raj remained at the hospital now as Howard had to get back to Bernadette and Sheldon needed to go to a meeting with Caltech University.

'Please! Just induce me! I need this baby out of me!' Priya screamed as the midwife walked in to check on her. A smile crept onto her face as she looked at the tired woman lying on the bed

'Well, good news Priya, you aren't 10cm dilated but as your baby is only 22 weeks, you are ready for delivery,' the nurse smiled, 'Only one person will be able to accompany you, so I assume you'd like it to be the father.'

Priya smiled and looked at Leonard and smiled, 'Come on then Leonard, it's time to welcome our baby girl into the world.' She said softly as the midwife wheeled her away, Leonard following.

'God, I need a nap.' Penny whispered and Raj nodded in agreement. 'I don't know if I should stay or go though, I want to make sure the baby is ok but I'm performing tomorrow so I need my sleep.'

'Go. I'll phone you when the baby's born.' Raj smiled and Penny sighed,

'No, I'll nap here, she can't be too long in the delivery room and I want to be there for them.'

It couldn't have been a couple of hours because Penny awoke to the feeling of being prodded on the arm. 'What?' she said groggily. She looked at the clock 2.24am.

'Penny wakeup.' Raj said and Penny yawned, stretching.

'Heya Raj, how's everything?'

'Er… it's not good. Priya gave birth about two hours ago but the baby has been put in a neonatal ICU. Priya is distraught, as is Leonard. So things aren't looking good.'

'Oh no, how bad is she?'

'She's not good, she's weighed in at two pounds, one ounce but the doctors are saying she's got a fighting spirit and she's shown positivity to everything however the survival rates of babies at 22-23 weeks are really low.'

'Oh god, how are Priya and Leonard?'

'Not good at all. They've spoken to a neonatologist about their options and at the moment Naiya is on life support but I… I don't know what's going to happen.'

Suddenly Leonard walked into the room to see Raj and Penny, 'hey.' He said quietly.

'Hey, how are you holding up?'

'Um, not very well I'm afraid. Priya's gone to sleep but I don't think she'll be asleep for very long.'

'What did the doctor say?'

'Well, she's two pound's and an ounce so that's good apparently. Most babies that are born at 22 weeks are about one pound. They're gonna keep her in an incubator but they've told us we have to be prepared.' Leonard said before breaking down and starting to cry. 'I know I was a jerk about this pregnancy before but I can feel she's mine and knowing that my baby might die… I can't deal with it.'

Penny felt her heart break for Leonard and gave him a massive hug, 'Leonard, you have to be strong and positive. She's a fighter and she's gonna make it, I can feel it. She's gonna make it because you are strong… as is Priya. Priya needs your support now more than ever so you have to remain strong. I know you want to break down and just cry and I'm not saying you shouldn't but you have to make sure your Priya's rock. You can do this Leonard.'

Leonard nodded and hugged Penny back, 'Thank you Penny, so um do you and Raj want to see little Naiya then? I'll forewarn you though, she is extremely small and connected to a lot of wires.' He sniffed.

'Yes, we would love to.' Penny whispered and both she and Raj followed Leonard. Penny felt tears well up in her eyes as she looked at baby Naiya lying there.

'She's beautiful isn't she.' Priya's voice came and all three of them looked to see Priya enter the room, 'I don't want to leave her side… in case something happens.' She said, her voice trembling.

Penny watched Leonard gently take her hand and all four of them stood in silence, just staring at the small innocent baby, lying there. Her life was now completely dependent on the wires that were feeding into her and keeping her alive. Penny looked to the ceiling, closed her eyes and made a single prayer: that Naiya would live and would grow up to be a happy and healthy baby.

**Heya guys, thanks so much for the reviews you left me, some made me laugh and it was nice to read. I actually did research for this chapter so hopefully all the facts I read were up to date etc :] Will update soon, I'm on a writing roll atm have a great day! xx**


	28. Chapter 28

It had been three weeks since Priya had given birth and unfortunately Naiya was still in NICU. Penny's acting was continuing to be successful with raging reviews and she found that she was becoming quite well known, people had started to stop her in the streets for photos and autographs. She had also struck up a relationship with Jason which she had to admit, she had gone into half-heartedly. She still hadn't yet moved out as she was too preoccupied with work to move but she made sure she was civil to Sheldon. She found that he ignored her most of the time but she learnt to deal with it, they hardly spoke aside from the odd hello.

So, as Penny sat in Jason's apartment snuggled up to him, she couldn't help but feel that she enjoyed snuggling Sheldon better. Her relationship with Jason was very strange; he treated her and talked to her like she was a dumb blonde show girl that he could show off as eye candy. He never seemed to let her do anything she wanted, it always had to be what he wanted. In addition, he seemed to find everything funny, even if it upset her. In a way she was glad that they had not slept together yet and sometimes wondered why she was with him. He had made the move on a few occasions but Penny found that she physically could not will herself to sleep with him. She liked to put it down to the stress of work and with Priya but deep down she suspected it was because of Sheldon. She was still in love with him and she was pretty sure he still loved her because she had seen the secret looks he had shot her when he thought she wasn't looking; they were both just too stubborn to admit it. She remembered how she used to bake lemon soufflés for them every Sunday morning. If there was one thing Penny could make, it was a lemon soufflé; she had never burnt one in her life because she could just feel when they were ready. So today, she decided to make lemon soufflés for Jason.

'Mmm, I love the way you smell and I cannot wait to taste one of your cakes.' He grinned as they cuddled on the sofa. Penny gave him a soft, but almost forced smile. She remembered how Sheldon would wait by the oven trying to calculate the time they would take until they were ready for him to consume. It felt strange that she was now with someone completely normal. It was almost… boring.

'I should probably check on the soufflés.' Penny smiled, getting up and out of his embrace.

'But they haven't been in very long.'

'Even so… I'll be back soon.'

Making her way over to his kitchen, she couldn't get Sheldon out her mind and she sighed. She needed his support because she was feeling stressed. She missed the way he held her, the way he kissed her, the way they lived together and she even missed their sex life together. Opening the oven she gasped in dismay as she pulled out the burnt lemon soufflés , 'Oh no…' she whispered as Jason entered the room.

'Oh dear, you burnt the cakes.'

'Actually they're soufflés.' Penny said, a hint of annoyance laced in her voice.

'Cakes… soufflé… same thing.' Jason chuckled.

'No, they're not. I've never ever burnt a soufflé in my life.' Penny said in dismay.

'Oh well, you'll live.' Jason grinned, kissing her neck. 'I love how good we are together, how much of a good couple we make. I'm so glad we met in that bar.' He whispered, 'I think I want to spend the rest of my life with you.'

Penny's eyes widened in shock, 'What? We've been dating three weeks!'

'Well I know that but when you know, you know. I know when we'll get married, how many kids we'll have, their names…'

'Woah, stop, stop! You can't just decide these things for me! You can't just plan out the next 20 years of my life!' Penny cried.

'Penny please, of course I can. I knew I had you the day I met you.' Jason laughed, once again treating her as if she were stupid.

'How could you know something like that?' she asked incredulously.

'Because you giggled like a school girl, you couldn't take your eyes off me and you had a certain nervousness about you that just… enticed me. Your cute little bubble brain was practicaly begging for me to take you out.'

'Really?' Penny said through gritted teeth, 'Because you want to know what I think? I think, no I know that you did not have me the moment that we met Jason. You're wrong. And excuse me but truth be told, I didn't like anything that you ordered for me on our first date and ok fine, yes, it was nice not to have to think for a change but who wants someone that doesn't think! You don't care about the things I like to do, you don't care that you upset me or insult my intelligence,' Penny yelled, the tears that had formed in her eyes falling down her cheeks. Jason let out a little chuckle, 'Look! You even laugh when I cry and you say "huh" when I make perfect sense. And never in my life have I burnt a lemon soufflé until now and that in itself… oh my god… that is a perfect example of why I can't be with you. It shows me that I can't be myself around you and I would have decided that a long time ago if it wasn't for my stubbornness and denial of the fact that I'm still in love with a terrific guy. I made a stupid mistake letting him go and even starting something with you so soon after ending things with him. I was never over him, you were just some guy.'

'Penny, you're making no sense.' Jason laughed and Penny laughed.

'That's the thing Jason! For once in my life, I am making perfect sense! I need to leave, I need to go and tell Sheldon I love him.' Penny laughed, grabbing her coat.

'Penny! Stop! We're so good together!' Jason yelled but she paid no attention to him. Running down the stairs of his building, she jumped into her car and raced through traffic until she parked in her allocated space. She ran up the flights of stairs and threw the door open. There he was, sitting at his desk working. He looked up to acknowledge her before looking back at the computer screen.

'Sheldon, I need to speak to you,' she said, still catching her breath. Letting out an annoyed sigh, he looked at her and raised an eyebrow.

'What?'

'I'm sorry, I'm so sorry.' She said.

'For what?'

'For ending our relationship and everything since. I miss you, I need you, I just want to take everything back and go back to where we were before all this shit happened!'

'I see.'

'Say something.' Penny said, annoyed that that was his response. Sheldon looked at her and furrowed his brow.

'Well, I don't know what to say. You dumped me without getting to know my side of the story. I have dreams too and it was unfair of you to make it seem like yours were more important than mine! I've given more than half my life to string theory and when I finally proved its existence, all that crossed my mind was to let the world know of my findings. And I'm profiting quite well from it so far and I tried to get into your performance, I truly did but I wasn't allowed! Ask John the usher. I could only listen to it, and from what I heard you were truly amazing. I wanted to go and see you but you were so angry with me I didn't think you would want me to, I thought I would throw off your focus or you would chew my head off, kind of like a female spider does to their mate. ' Sheldon said, his voice rising.

'Hey! I'm...' She started.

'I'm not done yet, so just… be quiet! I've missed you every day and do you know how hard it was to watch you go to that guy and watch you move on with someone who wasn't me? I still don't understand the reason as to why you ended it with me, you refused to speak to me and then all of a sudden you tell me that you can't be with me anymore? I've changed so much for you and you terminate our relationship over something so trivial… it was like a slap in the face,' Sheldon argued, 'Did you even care about how I felt or was I just another one of those men that walked in and out of your door?'

'Of course not! You mean more to me than anyone I've ever been romantically involved with!' Penny cried.

'Well it certainly doesn't feel like it Penny! If we're gonna be together, you're gonna have to listen to reason before making rash decisions. In fact if we're gonna be together, I must insist on a relationship agreement and you are gonna have to sign it!'

'Fine I will!' She yelled.

'Good! Because I love you!' Sheldon cried and Penny felt herself thrive off the sexual energy between them.

'Oh yeah?'

'Yeah!'

'Good, because I love you too!'

'Well good because that's the first time we've said that to each other at the same time!' Sheldon said, a look of shock crossing both of their faces.

'Yes… it is.' Penny's voice softened as she spoke.

Sheldon swallowed, 'Convention dictates for me to kiss you now.' he said and Penny put her hands on her hips.

'Well you'd better.' Before she knew it she felt Sheldon's lips collide with hers. Oh how she had missed this. This was how it was supposed to be, her heart beating fast, the butterflies flying in her stomach and her skin on fire. She started tugging at his clothes and he in turn followed her actions and before she knew it, they were back in bed together.

'Wow, that was some good makeup sex.' Penny said softly as he stroked her skin softly. He kissed her forehead and smiled at her.

'Sex is such an ugly word, I like to make love to you Penny.'

'Well, I like you making love to me too.' Penny grinned. Suddenly the phone rang and Penny grinned as she answered it.

'Penny Miller speaking, hot sex goddess with a very naughty physicist between her thighs.' Penny said, which earned a chucked out of Sheldon, 'Oh… Mrs Cooper… Hi! Yes, I'll pass him straight over.' Penny said, blushing beyond belief as she handed the phone to Sheldon, who was crying due to holding back fits of laughter. As soon as he put the phone to his ear, he spoke in a fluid voice as if he had just been sitting on the sofa casually reading a book.

'Hello Mother, what can I do for you? Yes, Penny and I have resumed our relationship… Yes, we love each other very much.' Sheldon smiled and she kissed his nose, 'Yes, I promise, we will visit. Things have just been hectic.' Penny began to kiss his neck and other erogenous places on his body and Sheldon felt his body react, 'Yeah mom, I gotta go…I'll call you back.'

* * *

An hour later, Sheldon and Penny decided to visit Priya, Leonard and Naiya at the hospital. When they arrived on the ward, they saw Leonard, Raj and Priya sitting with someone, who was talking to them with a look of concern on her face.

'That must be the neonaturalist.' Penny said quietly and Sheldon shook his head.

'Neonatologist.'

'Fine, neonatologist. It looks like something's wrong doesn't it?' Penny grimaced as she watched Priya bury her face in her hands and Leonard place an arm around her. The neonatologist left a couple of leaflets before leaving and Penny quickly rushed over.

'What's happened?' she asked.

'Naiya, she er… her organs are too weak and immature and they haven't grown to the stage that the doctors think they should be at. They haven't developed properly and this morning her brain activity began to drop and it's continuing to do so as we speak.' Leonard said, his voice shaking, 'Annie, our neonatologist, she says the decision is up to us but Naiya is very weak and it's been a real miracle that she's held out for three weeks. She's just stopped growing though and…' Leonard was interrupted by a painful howl of anguish from Priya.

'She's going to die and I can't stop it!' she sobbed. Penny clasped her hands over her mouth, a tear rolling down her cheek.

'Maybe…' she started by Priya cut her off.

'Maybe nothing. There's nothing more they can do, her brain activity is dropping.' Priya sobbed and she looked into the NICU ward window at her baby girl. Standing up, she placed a hand on the glass. No one knew what to say.

'Priya, we have to make a decision.' Leonard said softly, remembering Penny's words about being her rock.

'I know.' Priya whispered, 'what do you think we should do?'

Leonard sighed, 'I think… we should take her off support and just enjoy the remaining time we have with her.' Priya nodded as he spoke, 'She's put up a hell of a fight but… her little body is just too weak to continue now. Naiya will always be with us… in here,' Leonard said softly, placing his hand on her heart.

'You're right,' Priya said softly and Penny felt herself start to cry quietly. Sheldon put an arm around her and pulled her closer to his body. Raj got up and sighed.

'I shall inform Annie,' he said softly before walking out.

'So are you guys back together?' Priya asked, trying to perk up.

'Yes we are,' Penny said softly. Priya nodded.

'Congratulations, it's nice that something good happened today.'

'Oh Priya, it will be ok. You couldn't help this.' Penny said softly and Priya began to cry again, 'Oh don't cry Priya, please… you'll make me start crying again. You have to think how well of a fight Naiya has put up. She's survived three weeks when some babies don't survive 3 hours. You will have plenty more kids in the future and Naiya will be there to watch over you and them.'

'I know, I just wish… I just wish that this hadn't happened to me. No parent should have to bury their child.' Priya said softly as Annie and Raj entered the room.

'Alright Priya, Leonard… we're ready for you now.' Annie said softly. Penny watched as Priya, Leonard and Raj followed Annie into the room where Naiya was being kept. She and Sheldon peered through the window as Annie and a nurse removed the wiring from Naiya. Priya sat down with Leonard beside her. Annie lifted Naiya out of the incubator, wrapped her in a small cloth and gently handed her over to Priya.

'She's so beautiful,' Priya whispered, stroking Naiya's face.

'She should just slip away,' Annie said softly and both Priya and Leonard looked at each other.

'Goodbye my beautiful baby girl,' Leonard bent down and kissed the baby's tiny head, 'we've loved you for every second of your little life.' He took out his phone and took a picture of Priya and Naiya together. They looked perfect; his perfect family… even if it was a short lived one.

Priya felt her baby's breathing slow down and a tear rolled down her cheek as she whispered goodbye to her daughter. 'Mummy loves you Naiya,' she bent down and kissed her as Naiya's breathing soon slowed to a stop. Annie made the move to take Naiya away but Priya stopped her, 'No, I… I just want to hold her for a bit.' Leonard, wiped a tear away and kissed Priya's temple.

'She's at peace now,' Raj said, placing a hand on Leonard's shoulder before speaking a few comforting words in Hindi to Priya. It was at this point, Sheldon decided that it would be a good idea if he and Penny left them to grieve.

'I just can't believe that she's gone; poor Priya and poor Leonard.' Penny sighed as they walked down the street to the hospital car park. 'God, that's really put a downer on my day now.' She sighed. Sheldon linked his hands with hers and gave it a squeeze.

'Well at least she's in a better place now.' Sheldon said softly and Penny nodded in agreement as they arrived at the pay machine for the carpark. Sheldon looked at the parking charge prices and his eyes widened, 'Wow, those prices are extortionate!'

'Tell me something I don't know.' Penny said sarcastically. Sheldon frowned, pondering what to tell her.

'Ok, well did you know that many people believe that frogs don't have gall bladders when in fact they do, it's just harder to find because it's located behind their livers.'

Penny looked at him, shaking her head in disbelief, 'What?'

'You told me to tell you something you didn't know, well, that's something you didn't know.'

'Sheldon, I was being sarcastic but thank you anyway.' She said, dropping a couple of quarters into the machine.

'Penny?'

'Yes?'

'I love you.'

Penny smiled at Sheldon and gave him a gentle kiss, 'I love you too.'

**Thanks for reading guys, a nice long one for you :] Gonna admit I shed a tear when writing this [probably didn't help that I was listening to Alibi by 30 seconds to mars at the time lol] Saw a film called "Because I said" so the other da, so some of the chapter is influenced by it :] good film so if you havent seen it, check it out! Also a shout out to my reviewer Ontheledge! I had to use that frog fact you made in your review on chapter 26, it made me laugh and it was so random that it just made me think that it would be something Sheldon would say, so thank you :] Anyway I hope you liked the chapter, I will update soon! xx**


	29. Chapter 29

'Behold, the relationship agreement,' Sheldon said, placing down his newly written document in front of Penny, 'This is a binding covenant in its 45 pages that numerates, iterates and codifies the rights and responsibilities of Sheldon Lee Cooper, henceforth known as "The Boyfriend" and Penny Olivia Miller, henceforth known as "The Girlfriend".'

'That's the same speech you gave to Amy isn't,' Penny said, a small smile reaching her lips.

'No. Amy's relationship agreement was 31 pages, yours is 45. So I fail to see how that makes it the same speech.'

'Hey! Why is mine 45?!'

'Your relationship agreement includes coitus, Amy's didn't include coitus. It also includes the parameters that will define how we can improve our relationship in contrast to our first attempt.'

'You have a section on sex?' Penny said, raising her eyebrows.

'Yes, every aspect of our relationship must be covered Penny. We have to work hard at our relationship now and with this as a guideline, things should run more smoothly. Now, why don't you skim through, whilst I get my notary stamp?'

'Really Sheldon? A section on sex!'

'Penny, just be grateful I'm not also giving you a roommate agreement too! You agreed to sign this agreement as part of the terms of us resuming our relationship.'

'Alright, let's have a look at this thing,' Penny said with a feeling of dread. She opened up the relationship agreement and peered through it, starting at the sex section which had been labelled "Coital Regulations". 'We can only have sex on the weekends! Sheldon, you can't schedule sex, because that takes the fun and spontaneity out of it! Besides, you haven't seemed to mind until now when we have sex.'

'Penny, I know you're a big old 5 but…'

'It seems to me if we're going to have a relationship agreement, it cannot be one sided. I don't agree with the sex part. I have needs too… I like a healthy sex life and I like it frequently… not controlled and regulated.' Penny said, looking Sheldon straight into the eye and he sighed.

'Fine, we shall take away the coital relations section but I must insist that coitus still takes place on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.'

'We can have it every day of the week if you like.' Penny winked and Sheldon blushed, clearing his throat.

'Anyway, please make your way through the relationship agreement and tell me of anything else you wish to change.' He said and together they spent the next hour and a half rewriting the relationship agreement, to which (to Penny's delight) removed nearly 98% of the original document. Picking up the pen, she signed the newly printed relationship agreement. Sheldon followed suit and then stamped the document, 'Thank you for signing this Penny, it means a lot to me that you did.' Sheldon said and Penny smiled at him.

'It's alright, I'm just glad we're together again.' She gently leaned forward and placed a small kiss on his lips, 'I wonder how Priya, Leonard and Raj are doing,' she sighed and Sheldon shrugged, 'I prayed for the first time in a LONG time when Naiya was born. I prayed that she would live and grow up to be happy and healthy but obviously it went unheard.'

'I thought you didn't believe in God,' Sheldon frowned and Penny sighed.

'I don't, I just thought that maybe… if he was real, he would you know help out. It was a spur of the moment thing I guess.'

'Well it was the thought that counted,' Sheldon said, pulling her in for a hug. They both jumped when the phone rang and Penny answered it.

'Hello? Sure, I'll just pass you over,' Penny said before handing the phone to Sheldon, 'it's Gablehauser for you.'

'Hello?'

'_Hello Dr Cooper, Gablehauser here.' _

'Good afternoon,' Sheldon said.

'_I have great news for you Cooper. The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences called today… you've done it. You've won the Nobel Prize.'_ Sheldon was speechless. He had done it. He had finally gotten a Nobel Prize at the age of 34! _'Cooper? Are you there?'_

'I… I'm here sir… wow it's an honour… I'm speechless.'

'_Well there's something I never thought I'd hear,' _Gablehauser chuckled_, 'In recognition of your accomplishments, we want to make you Head of the Physics and Science departments of Caltech University with a raise of $40,000 which would make your annual salary at $110,000. And as you well know, you will get a $1.1 million dollars with your Nobel Prize, so congratulations Dr Cooper; you are a credit to the University.' _

'Th-th-thank you, I won't let you down I promise, thank you Sir.'

'_See you tomorrow Cooper, goodbye.'_

'Bye! And thank you again Dr Gablehauser!'

Sheldon turned around to Penny and lifted her up, twirling her around before crushing her lips in an extremely passionate kiss, leaving her gasping for air.

'Woah! What was that for,' she gasped, still breathless from the kiss.

'I've done it! I've won the Nobel Prize.'

'Oh my God! Sheldon I'm so proud of you! Well done!' Penny hugged him, beaming with pride.

'I can't believe it! This is even better than the time we first engaged in coitus! And they've also given me a promotion that comes with a $40,000 raise!'

'Oh honey, that's fantastic.' Penny laughed, deciding not to comment on the fact he had just belittled their first sexual encounter.

'And I was thinking that, after I get the million dollars that comes with my Nobel Prize, we could move and get a nice house somewhere.'

'That sounds amazing,' Penny grinned, 'I guess you'll have to find a new goal to achieve now too.'

'I've already got one in mind and I've had it in mind for quite some time now,' Sheldon smiled sneakily.

'Oh really, do tell.' Penny laughed, staring deep into his eyes lovingly.

'A life with you,' he said softly, taking her hands in his.

'Really?' She whispered, 'You've thought about that?'

'Yep,' Sheldon smiled, 'we're gonna have two kids, a boy and a girl.'

Penny smiled; somehow knowing that Sheldon had planned his version of their future together was completely different to the way that Jason had done it. Sheldon made it sound sweet and romantic, like had put serious thought into it. Also, it also helped that it was coming from someone she was head over heels in love with. It made her get a warm feeling in her stomach and she found herself craving to know more, 'What else do you think about?'

'Well, stuff like places where we could live. Maybe out in the suburbs where our kids can roam around in a nice large back garden and learn to ride their bikes, we could have a cat that had a bell on its collar and we'll call him Zazzles because our cat will be very zazzy… I shouldn't really have given the first Zazzles away but we can have a Zazzles mark 2. We could hear him come through the little kitty door… oh and we'll have an apartment over the garage where I could set up my lab so I can start researching into cloning and time travel.'

Penny found a large smile cross her face, 'You know what? I want everything you just said. I want that life together but you know when you said cat… you meant dog right?'

'No, definitely a cat but I suppose we could get a dog as well,' Sheldon frowned and Penny laughed before leaning up and kissing him.

'You promise we'll have that someday?'

'I promise it will happen,' Sheldon kissed her nose and broke their embrace; 'I suppose you will want to find a suitable dress for when you accompany to claim my Nobel Prize.'

'You're taking me with you?'

'Of course, you're the only person I'd want to accompany me to Sweden. I think this might be the best day of my life,' Sheldon grinned. Suddenly there was a rap on the door and the smile dropped when he opened the door to reveal Mary Cooper, 'Darn, it appears I spoke to soon. Mother, what are you doing here?'

'Shelly, you should be glad to see me here. When you told me that you were back in a relationship with young Miss Penny here, I had to come meet her properly. Obviously you were never gonna come to me, so I figured I'm come to y'all. Now are y'all having safe sex?' Mary asked clasping her hands together and Penny just opened and shut her mouth, not knowing how to answer the brash question.

'Mother! You cannot just turn up and ask if Penny and I are engaging in coitus, you know that I don't…'

'Oh Shelly don't lie to me. When your girlfriend picked up the phone stating you were between her thighs, well I put two and two together. Now I shall ask again, are y'all practicing safe sex?'

Sheldon looked like a kid that had just been caught red handed stealing cookies out of the jar and Penny bit back her laughter, 'Yes, we are.'

'Good, now let me get a proper look at you,' Mary said and Penny stepped forward and did an awkward twirl for Sheldon's mother, 'Oh Shelly, you've got yourself a stunner.'

'Thank you,' Penny smiled.

'Penny, don't listen to…'

'Shut up Sheldon.' Penny said and Sheldon just looked confused.

'So, I knew of you before Penny but only because you were bonking Shelly's former roommate. I didn't really get the chance to get to know you but I guess that's what this week is for. So Penny, what do you do for a living?' Mary said sitting down on the sofa as Sheldon brought in her suitcase and put it in the spare bedroom.

'I'm an actress, at the moment I'm playing Queen Elsa in Broadway's "Frozen",' Penny smiled.

'Wow, well that's quite an achievement you've got going for you.'

'Well, it's nothing on Sheldon's,' Penny laughed and Mary raised her eyebrows.

'What have you achieved that you haven't told me Shelly?'

Penny bringing up his life goal immediately set Sheldon in a good mood again. He was almost jumping up and down in excitement as he spoke, 'I won the Nobel Prize Mom!' Sheldon cried, grinning like a Cheshire cat.

'In your science hocus pocus?'

'Physics Mom.'

'Well congratulations Shelly,' Mary smiled and she hugged her son.

'I'm going to gloat to the others later and rub it in their faces so you can't brag about me to anyone just yet.' Sheldon said smugly and Mary frowned.

'Others? You mean your geeky little friends and the Indian?'

'Mother, you know you're not supposed to refer to Rajesh as "the Indian"!'

'Well, what should I call him then? A Curry Muncher?'

'Or just Raj would be nice.' Sheldon said, folding his arms and Mary rolled her eyes.

'Whatever, let's go out to dinner to celebrate. All three of us!'

'Mooooooom!' Sheldon whined.

'Sheldon Lee Cooper, you are my only son and we are going out to celebrate.'

'That's not true, you have George.'

'Well he's as dumb as soup and will never amount to anything, so in essence you are my only son.' Mary said flippantly.

Sheldon paused before shrugging, 'You're right, please continue.'

'We are going out for a celebratory meal, so put your coat on and let's go!'

'I'll drive.' Penny offered and Sheldon sighed. It was only typical that his girlfriend would side with his mother.

'Fine, but I'm not going to pay.'

'It's on me,' Penny said again and Sheldon glared at her, 'Oh stop being a baby Sheldon, let's go.'

'Listen to your girlfriend Shelly bean; she's got a lot of sense on her.' Mary laughed and despite his protests, Sheldon soon found himself sitting in the back of Penny's car, listening to his mother chat to Penny. Suddenly a massive truck cut Penny up. Swearing, she honked her horn and flipped the driver off.

'I don't think it's wise to make rude gestures at other drivers Penny.' Sheldon said.

'He cut me up!'

'That doesn't matter; you don't antagonise a man whose bumper sticker says: "If you're close enough to read this, I'll kill you".'

'Sheldon, I'd go all Nebraska on his ass if he tried anything. He'd be running scared like a little girl after I was through with him.' Penny said and Sheldon shrugged.

'Well, don't expect me to say comforting words when he turns up at our door looking for a fight.' He huffed and Penny rolled her eyes, choosing not to respond. Instead, she decided to resume her conversation with Mary. Penny parked up on the side of the road and they all got out of the car, 'Penny are you sure you're allowed to park here?'

'Don't see why not, there aren't any signs to say I can't.' Penny shrugged, 'Come on, let's go get some grub,' she laughed taking Sheldon's hand, 'Oh damn it, I've just realised, I can't have anything to drink with my meal… I'm driving.' She sighed and Sheldon rolled his eyes. Penny and her alcohol. When they were seated, they all gave the waitress their orders and made conversation with each other and Sheldon found that he was having a really good time. His mother and Penny were getting on really well and he just watched them in joy as they spoke with each other, laughing and giggling like teenagers. Looking out the window, he chuckled to himself and looked at the menu again to see what he would order for desert… it didn't harm anyone to know his decision prior. That way there wouldn't be a hold up when ordering.

'Sheldon, what's so funny?' Penny asked, raising an eyebrow. Was there something on her face?

'I think you should maybe have that Martini after all Penny.' He said.

'You know I can't Sheldon, I'm driving.'

Sheldon looked back down at the menu and smirked, 'Not anymore… they're towing your car.'

Penny's eyes widened and she whirled around to look out the window to see her car being loaded onto a tow truck. 'Oh shit!' she cried, jumping up and running out the restaurant. Mary looked at her son and smiled.

'Sheldon, don't ever let her go. She's the best thing that's ever happened to you.'

'I don't intend to mom.'

'Perhaps you should pop the question and create some grandbabies for me.' She smirked knowingly and Sheldon raised an eyebrow.

'Marriage? She's only 25 Mom and we've only just got back together, I don't think she'll want to be my wife just yet. Perhaps in the future.'

'Well, don't wait too long Sheldon, she's not gonna be young forever and when it's meant to be, like it is with y'all at the moment, it's never too early to pop the question.'

'Alright, perhaps I will then.'

**Thank you so much for your reviews guys! They really motivate me and make me write more so I can update faster. Hopefully we'll make the 290 mark! I've never had so many reviews on a story before and I'm really thankful you've given up two minutes just to let me know what you think of my story. I hope you enjoyed this chapter, I thought it was about time to bring Sheldon's mother into the equation. Let me know what you thought and I hope you have a great day xx**


	30. Chapter 30

'Remind me again why I can't let everyone know of my genius and winning of the Nobel Prize?' Sheldon asked as they climbed the stairs to Leonard and Priya's apartment.

'Because Leonard, Raj and Priya are still grieving over Naiya and it would be wrong to break your good news so soon after their loss. Just leave it a week or two.' Penny sighed.

'A week or two?! I'm gonna be featured on the news in two days!' Sheldon cried. Penny shot him a look and he gave in, 'Fine, but I get to brag about it at home and if they find out on the news and ask me about it, I can brag.' Sheldon said and Penny sighed and agreed. When they arrived, Penny knocked on the door. A few seconds later, it was opened by Leonard who looked surprised to see them.

'Oh hi… what are you guys doing here?' he asked.

'We came to see how you are,' Penny smiled.

'That's kind, I suppose you'd best come in.' Leonard said, inviting them in. Penny and Sheldon walked in and saw Priya standing up a framed picture of herself and Naiya that Leonard had taken.

'Hi Priya,' Penny smiled, 'How are you?' Priya turned to look at Penny before shrugging and looking back at the picture, stroking it softly. Penny looked at Leonard with a look of confusion and he sighed.

'She's hardly spoken to me at all these past three days; maybe you'll have better luck Penny. Annie referred us to a counsellor that specialises in this sort of thing and I'm hoping that soon Priya will start to improve,' Leonard said, rubbing his temples, 'Thea, our counsellor, she suggested that we start planning a funeral to bring closure. Apparently there are four stages for us to go through: accepting that our loss of Naiya is real, experiencing the pain of grief, adjusting to life without Naiya and finally putting less emotional energy into grieving and putting it into something new. In other words: moving on. We've barely even reached stage one yet… I'm trying to stay strong but I won't deny that I've had my fair share of cries,' Leonard sighed and although Sheldon felt sorry for them, he couldn't help but feel this would severely setback his ability to reveal his winning of the Nobel Prize.

Penny nodded and gave Leonard a small hug before making her way over to Priya and sitting beside her. She put an arm gently around Priya and watched as a single crystal clear tear rolled down her cheek.

'I feel so numb Penny, I don't think I'll ever love again.' Priya whispered.

'Of course you will Priya, you mustn't blame yourself for this at all. Sometimes these things happen and there's nothing we can do to stop it.'

'But there should have been. They should've been able to prolong my labour for another few weeks. At least then Naiya would have had a better chance of survival! I feel so guilty, I caused her death! Because my weak body decided that it no longer wanted to carry my baby. I'm such a bad person' Priya spat before bursting into tears again. Penny rocked her friend gently.

'Priya, you are not to blame. You are not a bad person in the slightest and I think you'll make a great mother again when the time is right. The doctors did everything they could for Naiya but unfortunately it just couldn't help her.'

'If I'm not a bad person or I'm not to blame, then why do I feel so guilty?'

'It's perfectly normal to feel this way; you're the easiest person to blame at the moment but soon you'll realise that that isn't the case. What you need to focus on is looking after yourself. You need to talk to someone like Thea or even Annie. You have to talk to Leonard too because he's going through the exact same thing as you are, so in essence he'll be the easiest person to talk to. You can always talk to me as well.' Penny said softly.

'Thea says we should plan a funeral for Naiya but I don't think I can do it. Laying her to rest when she didn't really ever live a day of her life.'

'Priya, she lived for three weeks. Most 22 week old babies don't live for more than a couple of hours. Naiya was a fighter, she stuck on in there because she was your daughter.'

'Well she didn't fight hard enough.' Priya sniffed.

'The important thing is to do what you feel comfortable with. Perhaps you could create a memory book for Naiya. Like, you could put in that picture of you and her in it, all the scans you had and any other mementos like her shawl, or the baby hat she was wearing. It could help you and Leonard to remember that Naiya was more than just a premature baby that you lost. It will enforce the fact that she was a real person and it will, in time, help you come to terms with the loss of it.' Penny said softly. Priya nodded and wiped away her tears.

'You're right. You know, I've been seeing to Thea for three days now nearly non-stop and she has not given me one bit of advice that was nearly as close to helping me as you have done in the past 5 minutes.' Priya sighed, 'I like this idea of a memory book. Although, I don't have many photos of her, as far as I'm aware, we just have the one.'

'Well I took some photos, if that helps.' Sheldon interceded and Penny smiled at him, mouthing "you're a star" at him.

'Let me see!' Priya cried, snatching Sheldon's phone and opening up the pictures app. Scrolling through all the cat Memes and physics quotes, she finally found what she was looking for, 'Oh she's so beautiful. We look like a family… I must have these photos… make sure you send them to me Sheldon.'

'I'll make sure he does and Priya, you mustn't blame yourself at all.'

'I'll try not to.' Priya said softly and Penny smiled. She and Sheldon stayed for another hour or so before deciding to head off. The moment the door shut, Priya walked over to Leonard and hugged him. 'Thank you for being my rock Leonard, I don't know what I'd do without you.'

'It's alright, we're in this together and we will pull through. I promise I will never run off and leave you again. I've learnt my lesson and I promise I will look after you. We can have more kids Priya, I promise.'

* * *

Sheldon and Penny opened the front door to their apartment to the wonderful smell of Mary Cooper's cooking.

'Wow, something smell's delicious!' Penny gasped and Mary smiled at her.

'That's because I'm treating y'all to my famous cobbler, it was one of Shelly's favourite dishes as a child.'

'Well, I look forward to tasting it.' Penny laughed, hanging her coat up.

'Mom, you really don't need to cook for me. I'm 34 years old, I can cook myself!' Sheldon cried and Mary gave a snort of derision. Penny could see where Sheldon had gotten that from.

'Nonsense Shelly, ever since you were little you've never been able to cook a decent meal, God didn't give you that gift.'

'No he gave me the gift of genius instead.' Sheldon huffed, 'If he wanted me to know how to cook properly, he should have come down and shown me himself, or bestow upon me the power of cooking,' he added sardonically

'Shelly, there is a saying: "God can't be everywhere at once, which is why he invented mothers". God placed me on this earth to feed you nutritious meals, so don't question the Lord Almighty. He is the reason why mothers can cook good wholesome food for their children.'

'Ridiculous, Penny could be a mother one day and she can't cook at all!'

'Gee thanks,' Penny said sarcastically.

'You're welcome.' Sheldon smiled and she rolled her eyes as her phone began to buzz, 'Hello? Oh, hey Steve, what's up?' She laughed. Sheldon observed her face as the smile turned into a frown and she quickly left the room. About 10 minutes later, she re-entered.

'Are you alright babygirl?' Mary asked and Penny found it difficult to find the right words to say.

'That was Steve, the director of my show… They're moving the production to New York in a month and a bit because it's been so successful here… and they're asking me to move with them.'

'Well, you can't go.' Sheldon laughed before walking into the kitchen and both Mary and Penny looked at him incredulously, 'What?'

'Sheldon, this is my life. I can't _not_ go!'

'But… what about me? What about us? The relationship agreement states that we must have a fully functional relationship, how can we have that if we are over 2000 miles away from each other?' Sheldon said, starting to realise the severity of the situation, 'You can't go.'

'Well, you could always come with me.' Penny said softly and Sheldon shook his head.

'I can't…I've been offered a promotion and a raise and I've accepted it. I can't just leave; this is where my life is. Everything I know is here, everything I love is here: the comic book store, my friends, my apartment, my spot on the couch, you… even Wolowitz! We'd have to have a long distance relationship.'

Penny sat down and rested her chin against her hands. She knew that Long Distance Relationship's hardly ever worked out and she wanted to have a life with Sheldon but on the other hand, to give up everything she had worked towards… it was difficult, 'We obviously need to have a serious chat about this Sheldon, because it's both our careers on the line and also our relationship.' Mary decided that she was probably intruding on a very personal conversation so she stuck the meal in the oven to keep warm and excused herself to the bedroom, 'So let's just say I move to New York and you stay here and we each commit to flying back and forth to visit each other as much as possible.'

'It's doable, but I prefer the use of trains.'

'Ok, I'll fly and you take a train. But then let's say 3 months down the line we like hit a wall. Like, I can't be away from performing on stage or you can't be constantly interrupting your research. Then we start to feel the tension and we start to realise that our relationship just cannot function over long distance so then we just argue all the time because we don't know how to get out of this endless cycle that we've entered. And then after a long and serious heartfelt phone call… we say goodbye and our relationship would finish. That would be it, for real. We'd never bump into each other because we'd be in different states, I mean we might see each other on TV or in the news but we wouldn't be together. We'd just end up being totally miserable.'

'Penny…'

'Or maybe we should just realise that what we've had together has been amazing and if I do go to New York in a month, we should just accept that our relationship has been the best that both of us have ever been in, that we wouldn't change it for the world and part on amicable terms.'

'Penny, sometimes you are the most depressing girl I've ever met.' Sheldon said and he stroked her face softly, tucking her hair behind her ear, 'We are not going to terminate our relationship because of this, we will find a way. As the wildings say in Game of Thrones: You are mine and I am yours.'

'Now how am I supposed to go to New York when you say things like that?' Penny laughed, resting her forehead against his.

'If it really means that much to you… you should go… and should you ever get tired of New York, I'll be back here, waiting for you.' He said softly.

'And you're sure you won't come with me?'

'If I could I would, but I can't so I shan't,' Sheldon smirked and Penny thwacked his arm.

'You're impossible Sheldon, truly you are.'

'You know Penny; technically I can't be impossible because I exist. What you meant to say is "You're improbably Sheldon, you truly are".' He added and Penny thwacked him again, only a little harder this time, 'Oww!'

'Oh don't be such a baby.' She laughed before going to get Mary's cobbler out of the over, 'Mrs Cooper, you can come back in now.' She called and a couple of minutes later, Mary was back in the room.

'Did you two lovebirds sort everything out?' she asked and Sheldon nodded, 'Good, now who want's some dinner?'

**Thans for all your reviews so far, can't believe we're near 300! You guys make my day! I hope you enjoyed the chapter, so let me know what you think xx**


	31. Chapter 31

'So this is it.' Penny said, her voice cracking slightly as she stood in front of all her friends at the airport, 'I'm gonna miss you guys so much.' She said, hugging each and every one of them.

'Don't you dare forget about us bestie,' Amy cried, hugging Penny so hard she could almost feel her bones crack.

'Yeah, else we'll come after you or spill secrets to the press,' Bernadette laughed, also hugging her friend.

'I won't forget about you guys, I promise. I'll visit as often as I can and I'll Skype Sheldon every night so you can see me on there,' Penny laughed. The last person she had to say goodbye to was Sheldon. They had had an intense goodbye session last night, well over the past week. During her last week in Pasadena, he had taken her back to where they had had their first date at the swing dancing place, he had taken her out for dinner every night, sexually gratified her whenever she wanted and they had had a long heartfelt talk last night on ways they could keep their relationship afloat. She hadn't slept at all on their last night together as she wanted to savour every moment: the way he sounded as he slept, the feel of him spooning her and the way his arm lay over her protectively. She never wanted to leave him but she knew she had to. New York held so many opportunities for her acting career. She looked deep into her lover's eyes and threw herself at him, hugging him as if she would never see him again. She had thought saying goodbye last night was hard, but this was even worse.

'Don't cry Penny,' he said softly, 'We'll see each other again soon, I'll visit you as soon as I can,' he smiled and he kissed her forehead. They both knew that if they kissed on the lips that would be it, she wouldn't go.

'Goodbye Sheldon,' she whispered and he smiled.

'Goodbye Penny.'

* * *

It had officially been two weeks since Penny had moved into her New York apartment. She was making good money from working on "Frozen" and as a result, she had managed to buy a nice spacious modern apartment. She loved her apartment and she loved her job but coming back after the day's work and realising that she would be alone, that there wasn't anyone to share her bed at night, no one to cook with and talk to. She hadn't realised how lonely it was living alone again and it wasn't like she knew her neighbours either. She had bought her dress and book the time off work to go to Sweden with Sheldon next month so he could collect his Nobel Prize and she really couldn't wait. She missed Sheldon, she missed him so much, she wanted the life he had imagined for them and she already was starting to feel the strain of a long distance relationship. Now she was in New York, it felt like her relationship and life with him was slipping away more and more with each passing day; sure, she spoke to Sheldon over Skype but it just wasn't the same. When her phone rang, she prayed to see Sheldon's called ID, however it came from her new co-star Leon.

'Hi Leon, what's up?'

'A bunch of us are going out after tonight's performance, do you fancy coming with us?'

'OK, sure, where shall we go?'

'We were thinking of heading down to the Algonquin hotel. It's got a good write up,' Leon said and Penny chuckled.

'Alright, I look forward to it,' she laughed and she stayed on the phone talking to him for around 10 minutes before the doorbell rang, 'I've gotta go Leon there's someone at the door, I'll see you tonight,' Penny hung up the phone and opened the door, gasping when it revealed Sheldon, who had a large bouquet of flowers in his hand.

'Surprise!,' Sheldon smiled, 'The internet said I should buy flowers for you and…' he was cut off by Penny throwing herself at him and kissing him.

'I missed you so much! Why didn't you tell me you were coming?'

'I wanted to surprise you; I thought that would be obvious?'

'Well, thank you. I was about to head out in a couple of hours though, I'm on stage tonight and then we're going out… I could get you a ticket and you can totally join us,' Penny smiled and Sheldon frowned.

'I wouldn't want to impose…'

'Sheldon, you're my partner. You could never impose, now you're coming out tonight and that is final!' Penny laughed and before he knew it, Sheldon found himself watching Penny's play with pride; watching her as she sang and acted with all her might, truly showing the audience her passion. Then came the dreaded night out with her cast mates. He was introduced to her cast mates as her boyfriend and they all greeted him with smiles and engaged in conversation with him. He made sure he was civil, for Penny's sake, and swallowed all his urges to point out flaws and impress with his genius. He was kind of surprised that Penny didn't mention that he was a Nobel Prize winner also, but he decided to let her have the limelight. That's what love was about after all, putting the needs of others above yourself.

'We should do this again,' Leon laughed at the end of their evening. Sheldon took in his dark handsome rugged features and felt immediate warning flags go off in his brain. There was something about this guy that he didn't like, the way he always stood next to Penny, or how he thrived off his looks. Intellectually, this guy was no match for him but physical looks wise, Sheldon was a goner. By the time they got in, it was 2am and Penny laughed and pulled Sheldon in for a kiss.

'What a night, god I missed kissing you in the evenings this week. How long can you stay with me for?'

'I booked the week off work, so I'm all yours for this week.' Sheldon grinned and Penny gave him a saucy look before pulling him into the bedroom so she could have her way with him.

* * *

The days passed quickly and Sheldon found that he was feeling more and more out of place. The only time he got alone with Penny was at night after they had hit the town with her cast mates. She was living the life of Riley, getting things for free, having photographs taken of her… some of which included him. He had also officially been dubbed "Penny Miller's Mystery Man" by TMZ and E! News. She was living the life of a celebrity and he wasn't sure he liked the lifestyle himself. He much preferred it when they had privacy and weren't bothered for an autograph and could do things without being watched or judged. Penny walked in wearing a LBD and heels and smiled at him, 'You ready to go out tonight honey?' she asked, fixing an earring in her ear.

'I'm not coming out tonight Penny,' Sheldon said, flicking through random celebrity gossip sites.

'Why not sweetie?' Penny frowned, noticing that something was up, 'Are you Ok? What's up?'

'I feel weird,' Sheldon sighed, turning to face his girlfriend.

'Why do you feel weird?'

'Because…,' he sighed sadly before continuing, 'these past few days, I've been feeling like I'm not really a part of your life; I feel like I'm on vacation. Well, I don't know. It's not how it feels, it's just… I don't know. It feels weird.'

Penny frowned, 'Well you kind of are on vacation but I see what you mean… I guess you're not used to New York life. Maybe… well, would it be easier if you felt like you could see other people when we're not together?'

Sheldon gave her a look of shock and he couldn't deny that that hurt him deeply. Why would she say something like that? 'Is that what you want to do?' he said, almost whispering. Penny looked at her feet and shook her head, 'Then why did you bring it up?'

'Because… I don't want you to feel like you're not living your life properly when… when we're not together,' she said quietly but Sheldon couldn't accept that explanation.

'Are you attracted to someone else?' he asked and she paused for a moment.

'No, I'm not attracted to anyone else.'

'Then why did you have to think about it?'

'Because… it's a silly question! You know I love you and only you.' Penny smiled at him but Sheldon wasn't having it.

'No, it's obviously not if you haven't to think about!'

'Sheldon, the only person I am attracted to is you. I just didn't want you to be alone whilst I'm here… I'm sorry if I hurt your feelings, I didn't mean to.'

'Yeah, well enjoy your night out.' Sheldon said, turning his back on her and looking back at the screen. Penny sighed and moved towards the door.

'I'll see you later then,' she said and Sheldon nodded in response, 'I love you.' When she didn't receive a response, she sighed angrily and walked out. Sheldon wanted to say it back but at the moment he was feeling like he didn't have a girlfriend anymore. Scrolling down the TMZ website, he read the headlines to see if there was anything on Penny and as he predicted, there was. It was a picture of him and Penny walking down the street after her performance and it was entitled "_Penny Miller continues to fuel romance rumours as she steps out AGAIN with mystery man_". Clicking on the link he began to read the article.

_As the star of "Frozen", Penny Miller is no doubted one of Broadway's most sought after Bachelorette's. She first fuelled speculation that she has a new man in her life after she was seen embracing a mystery man after a late night date in New York four days ago. The blonde beauty continued to court the romance rumours as she was seen out and about in the city with the same companion on Tuesday morning. _

_The new romance could explain the spring in the actress's step as she failed to contain her glee whilst strolling around Time Square. The 25 year old singer/actress showed off her slim pins in pair of skinny jeans with black knee-high boots whilst she wrapped up for the New York weather in a long black cardigan. Finishing off her ensemble with retro rounded shades and a white handbag, Penny was seen carrying two large Bloomingdales shopping bags. Her male companion sported a dark ensemble as he teamed a black coat with black trousers._

_Penny was happily affectionate with the handsome male pal as she was seen looking lovingly into his eyes and at one point even kissing his cheek. The blonde star was also seen with her arm draped across the mystery man's shoulder as he rested a hand on her behind._

Sheldon scoffed, was it not plainly obvious that they were dating? Why state that Penny was "fuelling romance rumours". Clicking on _similar stories_, he was surprised to see another headline on Penny, only this time it was more focused on him: "_Broadway star Penny Miller's mystery man revealed to be Nobel Prize winning Physicist._" 'How did they find that out?' he said to himself, clicking on the link.

_He's been seen being amorous with Broadway's beauty Penny Miller but just who exactly is the 25 year old starlet's mystery man? TMZ decided to dig a little deeper and was amazed to discover that Miller's new beau is in fact Nobel Prize winner Dr Sheldon Cooper. Cooper, who is due to be presented the prestigious award in three weeks in Sweden, is the head of Caltech University's Science and Physics department and is also a senior theoretical particle physicist. Originally from East Texas, 34 year old Sheldon Cooper can be described as somewhat of a child prodigy. _

_Starting college at the tender age of 11 and receiving his first PhD at 16, Cooper has gone on to achieve many accomplishments which include him proving the existence of String Theory. For his contributions to theoretical physics, Cooper was awarded the Caltech Chancellors Award for science, has lead an expedition in the Arctic Circle and has had numerous articles written about him in well-respected scientific magazines, such as "Physics Today". Though despite his achievements, the real question we all wish to know is how this Physicist managed to woo a beauty like Penny Miller. _

Sheldon chuckled to himself. If these TMZ people thought they had just uncovered something new, they were deeply wrong. He sighed as he thought of Penny; he needed to make things up with her because they had such little time left together already it really wasn't worth them fighting. Picking up his phone, he called Penny.

'_What do you want?'_

'Well hello to you too, I just wanted to say that I love you and I'm sorry for going all species 8472 on you.'

'_Species 8472?'_

'A highly resistant and volatile alien life form in Star Trek, they…'

'_Sheldon, I'm not interested in your poxy Star Trek shit, I'm trying to have a good night out despite our argument and your irrational behaviour earlier. I'll see you when I get home.'_ She said before hanging up. Sheldon looked at his phone as the line just went dead. She wanted to deny his apology, insult Star Trek and then give him the hump? Fine, then he wouldn't stick around to bear the brunt of it. Writing a note to Penny, he then booked an overnight train ride back to Pasadena and began to pack his bags. As soon as he was done, he left without looking back.

**Past 300 reviews! Wow, you guys are amazing! Thank you so much! Now, on with the story, I am currently reviewing the next chapter before it goes up tomorrow, so your input is very helpful! xx**


	32. Chapter 32

Penny stumbled into her apartment and was definitely feeling the effects of the alcohol, 'Sheldon!' she cried out, 'Baby where are you?' She turned on the lights and called out his name again when there was no response. Checking the bedroom to see if he had gone to bed, she saw that the bed was untouched and his suitcase was gone. Stumbling to the kitchen, she saw the note lying on the side. Picking it up, she read it over, blinking so she could read the words properly.

_Dear Penny, _

_I have decided to return back to Pasadena until your behaviour has rationalised and you've decided to be the Penny I fell in love with again. I don't like the new one at all, New York has changed you. I will call you when I deem it necessary._

_Sheldon _

Penny slowly placed the note back on the surface and blinked in confusion. The note was so abrupt, so uncaring… just like she had been on the phone when he had tried to apologise. Sighing, she poured herself a glass of wine as she realised her behaviour had caused him to leave three days early and she had therefore lost valuable time with him. She wiped away a small tear that had trickled down her cheek and took out her phone and called him. The dial tone rang twice before switching to voicemail, which meant that he had rejected her call.

'Hey Sheldon, uh...I got your note and I just want to say I'm sorry. I was totally in the wrong and I shouldn't have spoken to you like that when you were just trying to make amends. Look… I'm gonna head to bed. Maybe I'll try you again tomorrow. I know you said you would call me, but uh...I'm just uh...I just really want to hear your voice. So, um… why don't you just send me an email and let me know uh...let me know when it's good for you to talk. Okay, I'll talk to you soon. Bye.' Penny sniffed before burying her face in her hands and starting to cry. Why did she have to screw everything up? He was right, she had changed and the stress of the distance only added fuel to the fire. Sheldon was right. New York had changed her.

The next morning, she woke with a splitting headache and feeling extremely hung over. 'Ugh,' she moaned, touching her head lightly. Looking around at her surroundings, she realised she had fallen asleep in the kitchen and memories of last night came back to her, her night out, the kiss, Sheldon leaving, her voicemail to Sheldon… Penny's jaw dropped. She had kissed someone last night, someone who wasn't Sheldon; and that someone happened to be Leon, 'Oh God…' Penny whispered. It hadn't meant anything, she knew that… when she was younger she used to drunkenly kiss people all the time so technically it was OK, well in her mind it was. Penny decided that she would not tell Sheldon about it and if Leon enquired, she would say she couldn't remember. Luckily their kiss had been inside their hired limo and not seen by anyone. Deciding to follow a classic British hangover remedy, she cooked herself a bacon sandwich to help cure her hangover and hungrily tucked into the dish when suddenly her phone rang and her heart skipped a beat when the caller ID stated "Sheldon Cooper"

'Sheldon!' she cried, 'I'm so sorry, I really and truly I am! I was a total bitch to you, please forgive me!' she started to cry.

'_Calm down Penny, I just called to tell you that I've just arrived back in Pasadena.'_

'Oh, um… how was the ride?' she asked and she heard him sigh over the phone.

'_To be honest, it was boring and I missed you.'_ Sheldon sighed and Penny smiled.

'I missed you more. I'm so sorry Sheldon, I was drinking and you are right, New York has changed me I promise it'll never happen again.' She said solemnly and there was silence down his end and she thought that the line had gone dead and was about to hang up and redial when he spoke.

'_And I promise I won't take off again. I should have waited for you to come home so we could have a rational conversation. I can't help but feel that our relationship is far more strained due to the distance between us and as a result, we are arguing over petty things. We were both at fault; I made a mountain out of a molehill about the pause you left between me asking you were you attracted to someone else and you made a mistake in suggesting I see other people whilst we're not together. So I'll accept your apology if you accept mine. I am yours and you are mine remember, and I am your mystery man according to the journalists of that TMZ trash you like to read.'_

Penny laughed, 'If it's so trashy, how come you read it?'

'_Well, I had to make sure what you were reading was appropriate,'_ Sheldon stuttered, knowing he'd been caught out.

'Yeah right, you enjoy it!'

'I do not believe in frittering my time reading incoherent magazines based on other's lives.' Sheldon said snoopily and Penny chuckled.

'Pull the other one Sheldon. Anyway only a few more weeks to go until you finally are awarded your Nobel Prize!' Penny squealed and he laughed.

'_I know and I'll have the most beautiful girl on my arm there. All the other guests will be jealous. Anyway, I need to go. I have to do my weekly shop,'_ Sheldon sighed and Penny nodded, even though he couldn't see her.

'Ok, I'll call you later. I love you,' she said softly.

'_I love you too, bye_.'

'Bye,' she hung up the phone and a small smile reached her lips. She was so glad that she and Sheldon had reached the stage where they could have a mature conversation and she realised how much of a man Sheldon had developed into. She finally felt like she was in an adult relationship.

* * *

Penny had declined her cast mate's requests to go out partying every day for the past week and instead, she concentrated on spending time with Sheldon and her friends from Pasadena by talking to them over the phone, via Skype or via FaceTime. It was 7pm and she was on her iPad talking to Sheldon over Skype whilst eating some takeout Chinese.

'So I got a new roommate today,' Sheldon said as he worked on his computer at the same time as chatting to Penny.

'Really? What's he like?' Penny asked, popping a mouthful of noodles into her mouth.

'Well first off it's a she. She's amiable, she passed the tests and she works as a chef so she can cook too, though tonight is Chinese food night, so she's gone to get my order. It's secretly a test though to see if she can remember to get my food right,' Sheldon said and Penny couldn't help but feel a bit uncomfortable knowing that her boyfriend had a female roommate, 'Of course, she's nothing on you and she knows that upon your return she will have to find a new means of accommodation.' Sheldon said and Penny nodded her head, still unconvinced.

'Hey Sheldon, I got your order,' a female voice said as Penny heard the door open. She watched Sheldon turn around and speak to his new roommate.

'Did you remember to ask for the chicken to be diced, not shredded?'

'Yes.'

'Even though the menu deliberately specifies shredded?'

'Yes.'

'Brown rice not white.'

'Yes.'

'Did you stop at the green grocery and get the good hot mustard?'

'Yes.'

'Did you pick up the low sodium soy sauce from the market?'

'Yes.'

'Good.' Sheldon nodded and Penny watched a slender arm reach forward and hand Sheldon his take out, 'Sorry Penny, this is Lani… my new roommate.' Sheldon said and Lani sat next to Sheldon, giving Penny a large toothy grin.

'Hi!' she grinned and Penny almost choked on her food. She was stunning! Far prettier than herself by far! Lani had long dark hair, the perfect body, her ass to breast ratio was spot on and her smile… she was perfect! And on top of that, she had managed to get Sheldon's order to correct.

'Um, hi.' Penny said, waving awkwardly.

'You must be Penny! I must admit when Shelly told me that he was going out with a Broadway star, I didn't believe it!' Lani laughed and Penny nodded.

'Yep, that's me… it's nice to meet you?'

'Nice to meet you too… I'll give you two some privacy. Sheldon, if you need me I'll be in my room' she grinned before waving goodbye to Penny.

'Why did you get a new roommate?'

'I like to live with someone, I didn't like living alone and she fit everything that I required. She even signed a roommate agreement.'

'But she's gorgeous Sheldon!'

'Is she?' Sheldon frowned, 'I would think you're far prettier.'

'Well you're wrong there.'

'Penny, you are the only woman for me so if you fear infidelity, I can assure you it won't happen. I am very different from Leonard. Just relax and think… Soon we will be in Sweden and accepting my Nobel Prize!'

Penny nodded, perhaps she was just being a bit paranoid because she had kissed someone whilst drunk. She should've known better. Sheldon was still pretty clueless about a majority of things that came with a relationship so of course he wouldn't think that inviting a severely attractive woman to live with him would upset her. He saw her as someone who fit the bill, someone who could pay rent and he could just live with and if she was totally honest, there was no way a girl like that would ever go for a guy like Sheldon. Lani was way out of his league. She smiled to herself before a feeling of dread washed over her. It had suddenly occurred to her that once she was that girl who would have been considered way out of Sheldon's league. Shaking her head and closing her eyes, she tried to purge the thoughts of Sheldon and Lani.

'…. And then you can eat it whole. Penny were you even listening to a word I said?' Sheldon asked and Penny blinked at him.

'Er, sorry I must have blanked out… you'll have to forgive me, I'm just… tired.' Penny said quickly and Sheldon sighed.

'I'll let you go then. I don't want you to be sleep deprived because of me.' Sheldon smiled. Her jaw dropped when she saw Lani walk in wearing pyjama bottoms which could be classed as knickers an a very tight mickey mouse top.

'Shelly, I bought the new digitally re-mastered Star Trek: The Next Generation. Do you want to watch it with me?' Lani asked and Sheldon smiled.

'I'll be right over, be a doll and stick some popcorn on.' Sheldon laughed and Penny felt her blood boil. This girl was bad news. Big time.

'I'll see you later Sheldon.' She said before logging off. After clearing up she tucked herself into bed and laid there, staring at the ceiling. For some reason though, she just could not stop thinking about Lani and Sheldon. She knew he wouldn't cheat but after Leonard… she was still feeling a little insecure. Penny felt a single tear fall down her cheek as she thought of her boyfriend watching Star Trek with another woman and before she knew it she was sobbing herself to sleep.

**Thank you so much for your reviews guys! I hope you enjoyed it… with regards to a couple of the reviews, what I'm trying to do is show the effects a long distance relationship can have and I know some of you have found it too angsty and I'm sorry if you do but from what I've experienced with LDR's trust is always an issue, even with the strongest of couples, the stress of not seeing each other, work, growing apart… it's a lot of work so of course it's gonna be a bit angsty (which is why this story is labelled under it) but I promise it won't be for too much longer. Relationship's aren't perfect and it wouldn't be right to make Sheldon and Penny happy all the time because that's not real life… plus their personalities are so different that it's bound to cause arguments. Also, when I decided to create Lani's character, I got my inspiration for her looks from the beautiful actress Michelle Keegan so to me that's what Lani looks like :] anyways, hope you enjoyed it, thanks for all your input and next chapter will be up soon! xx**


	33. Chapter 33

'This year's prize is about something very small that makes all the difference. The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences has decided to award the 2014 Nobel Prize in Physics to Dr Sheldon Lee Cooper from Caltech University, USA for his ability to prove the existence of String Theory and change the way we look at Physics today.' The commentator said as his speech was broadcast around the world. Penny felt extremely proud as she sat beside Sheldon wearing a white Versace dress that clung to her every curve. She clapped extremely hard when he smiled and stood up, walking towards the stage. Sheldon looked so happy, it was like he was walking on air and to him it felt like cloud 9.

Sheldon shook the commentators hand and accepted his medal and diploma. He looked at the audience and cameras with a massive grin on his face as he prepared for his acceptance speech.

'Your majesties, your highness's, ladies and gentleman, esteemed colleagues and friends… May I start out by saying what an honour it is for you to have me,' Sheldon smiled as the audience laughed, 'I'd like to take this opportunity now to thank the Royal Swedish Academy for finding my work worthy of this highest honour. I have heard that it is customary for the recipient of the award to offer a personal and scholarly comment on the nature and direction of Physics, however at this particular time, I think it's more important that I concentrate on making sure that I don't continue to stand here and sound like a squeaky and apologetic mouse but to roar like a lion out of pride in my profession.

'Today is a great day for particle physics. After years of dedicated work, String Theory has finally been proven. A lot of praise has been given to my work these past few months so let me refrain from giving it more praise and focus on something else. Let me focus on praising the people who have been supporting my research and I these past twenty years. My school, my college, my friends, colleagues…my mom, thank you all so much. This is my life's achievement and I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart. It is an honour to be here, it's an honour to accept this award and I truly hope that my discovery of String Theory will be used to prove many things that we scientists still have yet to discover about physics. And lastly, to close my speech… I want to thank my wonderful other half Penny for inspiring me to chase my dream.' Sheldon said before stepping down to a huge round of applause. Upon arrival back to his seat, Penny gave him a massive kiss which, unknowingly to them, was caught on camera.

'I love you,' she whispered to him and he nodded.

'I know,' he grinned before embracing her. The rest of the night was a blur for Sheldon, he had never been more excited in his life and he was just so happy that he was here with Penny and that she was part of fulfilling his lifelong dream.

* * *

Upon arrival back to their hotel room, Sheldon decided he was going to do it. He was going to go to get down on one knee and propose. Tonight. Then tomorrow, he would take her out to buy a ring. He and Penny had been working extremely hard on their relationship since their last spat and although they still argued, the stuck with it, as they had promised to one another. Penny had made real changes for him, just as she had said she would and they found that their relationship was now far more harmonious.

After reading all the congratulatory texts, he left his phone on the side board. 'Sheldon, can you help me get out of this dress sweetie?' Penny asked turning around so he could unzip her. As soon as the zip was down, Penny felt like she had been granted the gift of being able to breathe.

'I'm just going to take a shower, I bought some adhesive ducks at the airport because you never know with hotels whether or not they supply them,' Sheldon said and Penny chuckled. He was such a whack-a-doodle sometimes. When the door shut, his phone flashed and Penny looked at it to see that it was from Lani. She knew she shouldn't but she did it anyway. Opening up the message, she read it.

"_Good luck on winning your Nobel Prize today hun, I'm so proud. I miss you not being here with me at the moment, its weird being in the apartment alone. Call me when you can xxxxx."_

Penny's eyes almost bulged out their sockets and she felt her stomach knot, so she scrolled through all of his messages with Lani and was shocked to see that there were kisses involved on the end of every text. Sheldon hardly ever bothered with kisses when texting her, he had always just phoned her or knocked on her door. Speaking of which, the door to the bathroom opened and Penny quickly chucked the phone back on the side. Sheldon towel dried his hair and looked at Penny, who was suddenly starting to feel very insecure. She had to know more. She didn't think Sheldon was one to be unfaithful but she had to know if there was something going on, otherwise it would go round and round in her mind until she went crazy.

'So… you're close to your roommate… Lani?'

'What's do you mean?'

'Ok, I'm just gonna come straight out with it. Is there was something between you and her?'

'Penny, I don't understand what you're on about.' Sheldon said, confused and suddenly his phone buzzed again and he looked at it before looking back at her. She had a guilty look on her face and he frowned, 'Were you going through my phone?'

'I didn't go through your phone,' Penny scoffed, 'I walked over there and your messages were out. It's not that hard…'

'My messages were out?'

'Yeah, I could see them. It's not that hard to be bloody Einstein. Sheldon, just please tell me what's happening with you and her!'

'There is nothing happening!'

'Why don't you just tell me?'

'I just did! There is NOTHING happening between Lani and myself!'

'Oh come off it Sheldon, you're obviously involved in something with her, at least she seems to think so.'

'I am not involved with her.'

'You're not involved with her?'

'Absolutely not!' Sheldon cried.

'And there's nothing between you and her?' Penny asked, breathing a sigh of relief and Sheldon gave her a look before responding in a firm voice.

'Absolutely not.'

She was about to apologise for her behaviour when suddenly his phone flashed again with another text from Lani. Grabbing his phone, Penny opened up the message.

"_TV went. Will call in an electrician to fix it but I saw you accept your award before it went off. You were looking gorgeous Shelly! I wish I was with you right now, it would have been amazing to be there supporting you! We'll celebrate when you come home ;) xxxxx"_

Penny looked at him before looking at him in disgust, 'That's a fucking lie! What else have you been hiding from me?' she asked, starting to look for evidence on his phone

'Penny, please don't go through my phone, it'll just make you paranoid!'

'Paranoid? So you are hiding something!' she hissed, chucking his phone at him, 'Why didn't you tell me you fancied her!'

'I don't Penny!'

'You must do, don't lie to me! I read the text messages you send to each other! It's plain as day she fancies the pants off of you too!'

'She is my roommate! I don't find her attractive! I only have eyes for you and you shouldn't be reading my text messages Penny!' he yelled, before softening his voice, 'You should trust me. I love you and only you.'

Penny blinked and looked at the sincerity in his eyes. 'I'm sorry,' she sniffed and he sighed before it suddenly clicked with him what this was truly about. Why hadn't he seen it before?

'Look Penny,' Sheldon said, making sure he was calm, 'I know you're insecure about this because of what happened with Leonard but I am not like him. I love you and I wouldn't want to change you for anyone else but you have to trust me else we can't be in a stable relationship. I'll admit that Lani is aesthetically pleasing to the eye but she has nothing on you. And I won't let you ruin this day of bliss for me Penny. Now, I'm willing to forget the last 5 minutes if you are.'

Penny sighed and began to cry into her hands. 'What did I do to deserve you Sheldon, I don't know why you're with me… I just screw everything up. I'm so sorry Sheldon, truly I am. I know you don't see it but Lani… she's beautiful and she is coming on to you really strong and I don't know if it's because you don't get it or you can't see it but that's what she's doing. I can see it and it hurts.'

'Penny… have you so little faith in me?'

'I have every faith in you.'

'Then let me prove to you that I am yours and only yours.'

'How would you do that?

'Marry me.' He whispered, pulling her into an embrace. Penny's jaw dropped.

'What?'

'Marry me.'

'Even after what I just accused you of?'

'Marry me.'

A smile crept onto her face and she looked at her boyfriend, 'I shan't say a word unless you get down on one knee and ask me like a gentleman.' She grinned and Sheldon rolled his eyes before getting down on one knee.

'Penny Miller, do you think you could consent to becoming a Nobel Prize winner's wife? Will you marry me and make me the happiest genius alive?'

Penny nodded, 'Yes, yes I will.'

Sheldon grinned and crushed his lips against hers. 'I love you Penny.'

'I love you too.' She whispered against his lips, 'I want you to get rid of that Lani girl. Make her move out.'

Sheldon frowned and looked at her, 'Why?'

'Because,' Penny smiled at him, 'I've decided that it's about time I came home.'

**Thanks for reading guys! I hope you enjoyed it! Let me know what you think! xxx**


	34. Chapter 34

'Er, what do you mean I have to move out?' Lani asked angrily.

'I mean you have to move out.' Sheldon said.

'Why! Why do I have to go? Did I do something wrong?' Lani said, exasperated.

'Penny is coming home.'

'And?'

'Penny is my girlfriend and as stipulated in the roommate agreement, you agreed to move out when she returns. If you don't like it get a lawyer.' Sheldon shrugged and Lani blinked, at a loss for words.

'Yes but I thought she'd be gone for a little longer than this. She's been in New York for like what… two months?'

'She's decided she wants to return to be with me. She told me that when she informs them of her resignation tomorrow, the production company rules state that they will give her two weeks of shows to complete so a replacement can be drafted in to take over.'

'Two weeks?' Lani sighed and rubbed her temples. She liked hanging with Sheldon, he was cool and they shared so much in common and he was alright looking. It also helped he was a Nobel Prize winner and had a lot of cash in the kitty. He was fun to live with and just because he had a girlfriend didn't mean that she had to move out. Unless… 'Oh I get it, she got jealous of me and so she's coming back to make sure you won't go for me instead.' Lani laughed, crossing her arms, 'I get that a lot.'

'I'm sorry Lani, but you signed the relationship agreement and there's no backsies once it's signed.'

'How long do you think it's gonna be before she leaves you again for another project Sheldon? She's an actress and that requires her to be away for periods of time on set. She could meet an actor and before you know it you've got the Jennifer Aniston, Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt thing going on, only you'd be Aniston. She's famous now and that fame is never going to go away. She's going to want more, she's gonna miss being on Broadway and being the star of a show. I'm telling you now Sheldon, she's only coming back because she thinks I'm gonna make a move on you,' Lani said. It soon dawned on Sheldon that Lani had a point. Penny had been trying for 6 years to make it big. Why was she suddenly giving it up? Did she not trust him enough to live with Lani? 'I think you should tell her to stay Sheldon, she belongs there… like you belong here.'

'Penny is my partner and she trusts me, like I trust her. However, I shall forward this proposal. She is contracted to do this production for 6 months before renewal and to leave before seems silly.'

'Thank you Sheldon.' Lani smiled, breathing a sigh of relief. She tucked her long dark hair behind her ear before kissing his cheek, 'You're the best.'

Lani then went to her room and opened up her laptop. She had to find out more on Penny if she was to have Sheldon… no guy could be THAT loyal to a girl. Typing into google "Penny Miller", she clicked on the news section and began to read articles on her. After reading 5 or 6 different pages on her, she refreshed the page to see a new headline had been added, _"Penny Miller sparks engagement rumours with a large tanzanite and diamond ring as reports emerge of her retiring from Broadway."_

'Engaged? No way… Sheldon isn't the sort of guy who'd propose!' Lani said to herself before clicking on the link.

_She has been quietly dating Nobel Prize winner Dr Sheldon Cooper for the past 9 months. And it seems like Penny Miller and her beau may have some happy news to share as the actress was spotted with a large tanzanite and diamond ring adorning her wedding ring finger on Wednesday showing that she and her man may be ready to take things to the next step. The 25 year old made no attempt to hide the previously unseen bling on her ring finger, clutching her phone with her left hand and smiling for the cameras. Penny has made no secret of her adoration of her Nobel Prize winning boyfriend, telling OK! Magazine's last issue: "I am actually dating my crush. I had a crush on him for a long time and it just so happens that we fit great together. We work hard at our relationship and we love each other very much". Miller recently accompanied boyfriend Sheldon to Sweden where he was awarded the Nobel Prize at the young age of 34. In his acceptance speech, Cooper credited his girlfriend, telling the world she was inspiration for his chasing his dream. _

Lani sighed and flopped back in her chair. This was gonna be harder than she thought; especially now Sheldon and Penny were engaged. Shutting the laptop, she bit her lip wondering how she could make this work. It had to be done subtly, and within the next two weeks. Making her way back into the lounge, she walked in on Sheldon in an argument on the phone.

'Penny, all I'm trying to say is that you've been trying to chase stardom for 6 years. To give it up after 4 months just seems silly! Yes I know that. I'm not being irrational Penny… Look I don't want to talk to you if you're going to flip your lid… Now _that_ wasn't very nice. I will call you again when you've calmed down and your profanity filter is back in place.' Sheldon then hung up the phone and sighed. He hated arguing with Penny and was startled when he saw Lani standing in the doorway.

'She not take it well?' she asked and Sheldon sighed.

'The female mind really is a complex thing. I believe it to be the one thing I have never been able to solve. Give me equations and I will solve them in under a minute but hand me a woman's brain and we're running around in circle.'

Lani smiled at him, 'Well that's why you have me. Do you wanna watch something?' she asked and Sheldon frowned.

'Hmm… I fancy a Lord of the Rings marathon… what do you think?' Sheldon asked and Lani smiled.

'Perfect, I'll cook us something whilst you set up.'

'Brilliant… I must say Lani, having you as a roommate was probably the best thing I've ever done. Leonard, my old roommate, he never cooked for me and the amount I've saved on not buying take out… it's amazing.'

'Well, you'll always have me.' Lani grinned as she began to make some homemade popcorn from scratch, 'I like being your roommate.'

'And I you,' Sheldon smiled. An hour into the second movie, Sheldon didn't realise that he and Lani were very close on the sofa. She was resting her legs on his lap as they both watched the film under a blanket with the light off, 'Now you see Gollum's eyes. When he's Gollum, his pupils are tiny so they appear more sharp and menacing, however when Smeagol's personality comes through, his pupils are larger. That shows the more naïve and oppressed character.' Sheldon said and to Lani's surprise, she found it to be true.

'Wow, I never noticed that before! That's amazing!' She grinned and Sheldon looked smugly at her.

'I make it my business to know all trivia on Lord of the Rings, Game of Thrones and all Star Trek and Star Wars franchises.' Sheldon bragged and Lani giggled.

'Sheldon you are sooo funny.'

'I would hardly call that funny but thank you for the compliment, regardless of its improper use. Do you think I should call Penny now?' he asked and Lani frowned.

'Why don't you watch the rest of the movie first? We still have the second part of the extended version to go as well as another hour and a half on this and then we have to watch the third one.'

Sheldon grimaced, 'No, that's too long to wait… I have to do it now. You continue on without me, I know it word for word anyway.' He said, quickly taking his phone out, 'Could you remove your legs from my lap please.'

'Shelly, she can wait, stay with me and watch this.' Lani said, batting her eyelashes flirtatiously. Sheldon looked at Lani and smiled at her before shaking his head and starting to dial Penny's number.

'I'll be back in a few minutes Lani, just continue watching and I'll be back soon.' He walked into his bedroom and Lani sighed in frustration. She should have known Sheldon wouldn't understand flirting. The man didn't understand sarcasm for God's sake!

'_Hey sweetie_,'

'Hey, so um, are you calmer now?'

'_Yes.'_

'Penny, I want you to come home I truly do but I think that if you left Broadway you'd miss it and I know you've worked really hard for it. I can't let you give that up.'

'_But Sheldon… I want to. I want to marry you, have kids with you; I want to have a life with you.' _Penny sniffed over the phone.

'And we will. I want to suggest the following. You stay in New York and continue Broadway…'

'_Sheldon, no… I want…'_

'Let me finish. You stay in New York and stay until the end of your contract and if you still want to leave at the end, simply don't renew it. In the meanwhile, I will organise a two month transfer to New York University as a visiting professor and I will sublet the apartment until we return. I love you Penny and I want us to be together.'

'_You would do that… for me?'_

'Yes Penny. I was thinking about something Lani told me. She said that you might miss Broadway and I want to make sure that you are 100% sure you want to leave Broadway and this isn't a rash decision.'

'_Oh Sheldon, I love you so much.' _

'I love you too Penny. So will you do this for me?'

'_Yes, and I'm sorry about how I acted earlier. I don't know what's wrong with me… I'm just angry like all the time and if I'm not angry I'm upset but when I'm with you I feel so happy. I dunno…. Just come soon and I'll be happy again.' _

'I'll make arrangements tomorrow. I'll be with you as soon as I can.'

Lani narrowed her eyes as she listened from the other side of Sheldon's door. No she wasn't going to let this happen. Penny didn't deserve Sheldon, she treated him so badly all the time and yet time and time again he forgave her. Just because she was a Broadway star didn't give her the right to treat him like dirt. Sheldon was not going to go to New York and that was final.

**Uh oh! Anyone got any ideas for what Lani might do ;] Thanks for all your lovely reviews and I look forward to reading any that you leave me for this chapter so let me know what you think xx**


	35. Chapter 35

Lani sat in deep thought over what to do about her predicament. She was thinking so hard, she didn't realise that Sheldon had walked into the apartment with all his friends. When the door closed, she blinked and came back to reality. She smiled at the group with her pearly white teeth and waved. She didn't really care much for his friends, but if she and Sheldon were going to be together she would probably need to get on with them.

'Hi guys how are you?' she asked. She was greeted by a few murmurs but not much else.

'Everyone's come to help me pack, would you care to join?' Sheldon smiled and she returned the smile and nodded.

'Sure, it'll give me a chance to get to know your friends more,' she said, tucking a piece of her hair behind her ear. She looked at the girls that were accompanying Sheldon and decided they were nothing special, however they looked smart. The one with the brown hair was looking at her really suspiciously and the blonde one began to speak to her in her annoying squeaky voice.

'So Lani, it's nice to finally meet you, Sheldon's told us a lot about you,' she said and Lani grinned, looking at Sheldon and blushing.

'Really?'

Amy narrowed her eyes. This Lani girl just didn't sit right with her… Penny had told her of her worries over Lani and she had agreed to be Penny's eyes and ears until Sheldon was in New York with her. Amy looked at the gorgeous chef as she talked to Sheldon and there was no doubt about it, Lani did have her eyes on him; she could almost see Lani's medial prefrontal cortex swelling up as she watching him. Amy watched as Lani tried to get as close to Sheldon as possible and she couldn't help but be baffled at how clueless Sheldon was to her advances.

'Sheldon, may I have a word?' she said firmly and Sheldon looked at her, nodding.

'Of course, how may I help you today Amy,' he asked, following her to the kitchenette. Amy lowered her voice and spoke to him in a firm voice.

'Are you aware of the sexual advances that your roommate is making towards you?'

'What? Lani knows that I am in a committed relationship with Penny.'

'You obviously didn't see the crazed, cunning and lustful glint in her eyes when she watches you.'

'She always looks like that… she's a chef. Have you not seen Kitchen Nightmares? Or Hell's Kitchen? Chefs are crazy!' Sheldon laughed and Amy sighed angrily, raising a hand to her forehead.

'Sheldon, it's as plain as day that she finds you attractive, how are you not seeing this?!'

'Because you have no supporting evidence to back your hypothesis. I find it extremely rude that you walk into my apartment and start accusing Lani of having romantic feelings for me. And the way you speak about her, it's like you imply she worships the devil or something.'

'She doesn't have to, he most likely worships her!'

'Amy, look… whilst I find your theories almost amusing. I can tell you for sure that my relationship with Lani is purely plutonic and I'm sure she feels the same way.' Sheldon smiled and Amy sighed.

'I have a suggestion, one which might intrigue you,' Amy said. She obviously wasn't going to get the truth through Sheldon's thick skull so she decided to try a different tact. She remembered when she and Sheldon had had an understanding of one another and they used to concoct schemes and experiments to find out information. If she could apply this method to reveal Lani's attraction to Sheldon, he might actually see it.

'Do tell.'

'What if we did an experiment to test my hypothesis?'

'Intriguing, what do you propose,' Sheldon asked and Amy smirked.

'I shall attain the groups opinions of Lani with regards to her relationship with you and you will try to find a way to make Lani reveal that she finds you handsome. And to raise the stakes, if I am correct you will give me the month off from co-presenting "Fun With Flags".'

'Awww but the viewer's love you!' Sheldon sighed with dismay, 'And if I'm correct?'

'And if you are correct, I will buy you a first edition mint comic book of your choice,' Amy smirked and Sheldon's jaw dropped.

'Darn, that is a good wager…' Sheldon paused to think on it before nodding. Amy stuck her hand out to shake his and he screwed his nose up.

'You know it is customary to close a deal with a handshake,' Amy said, raising her eyebrow and Sheldon nodded.

'I know but I don't particularly like holding anyone's hand unless it's Penny's.' Sheldon grimaced and Amy laughed.

'Just show some decency and do it.'

'Amy, we had a three year relationship. You should know that decency is not at the top of my list of traits. In fact I have little sense of decency because that way, my other senses are enhanced.'

'Sheldon! Shake my hand!' she cried and grabbing a napkin, he placed it between their hands before shaking, 'there, that wasn't too bad. Now… let's go and see if my hypothesis is correct.'

Sheldon sighed and together he and Amy walked back to the others.

'You guys alright?' Howard asked and Sheldon smiled.

'We're fine thank you Howard, now… back to the reason as to why we are all gathered here today. To help me pack. Now, I don't need everything therefore I have drawn up a list of what I require and I have placed these in each room. I suggest we each take a room thus working more quickly and efficiently,' Sheldon said, 'Wolowitz, Raj, Amy and Bernadette will do the living room followed by the kitchen, Priya and Leonard the bathroom and Lani and I will do my bedroom. I also want to say thank you.' Sheldon smiled and he watched a smile form on Lani's face. Amy also saw the smirk and just prayed that Sheldon would realise that she was right.

Sheldon then walked towards his bedroom with Lani close behind, 'Do you really have to go Sheldon?' she asked softly, sitting on his bed. She finally had him alone in his bedroom, they had never done this before. Perhaps she could use this time to "bond" more with him.

'Yes…' he started before he suddenly realised that he was supposed to be finding out whether or not Amy's ludicrous hypothesis was valid. He had to win in order to get that comic book and also he couldn't let Amy have a month off of "Fun with Flags", that was simply unheard of! 'I mean, well… yes… You were right when you said that it would be silly for Penny to leave now so I said I'd go out there. I'll be back in a couple of months anyway. You're more than welcome to stay here until we return.' Sheldon smiled, grabbing a box and beginning to pack some of his stuff in there. Lani sat down on his bed and took the picture of him and Penny cuddling in her hands. She looked at how happy he was with her and took note of how his eyes just lit up with joy as she was laughing with her arms wrapped around his neck. She just wished it was her in that picture as opposed to that blonde.

'Penny means a lot to you?' she asked and Sheldon smiled.

'Yes, she's very special to me.'

'But you guys argue so much. And when you marry her… you'll never have privacy again and well as a Nobel Winning Scientist, you need that privacy so you can concentrate on your work. You'll be constantly judged and when she goes out to film in some random location for 6 months, you'll hardly see her and then she'll get jealous again and she'll try to control you just like she is now. I don't think your relationship is healthy and I'm not sure if it'll last long term.'

'Hmmm…. you make a valid point. Penny and I will always live separated lives and I'm not sure if that's possible. And if Penny isn't a suitable match for me, what sort of woman would you recommend I go for?' Sheldon asked. Perhaps Amy was right; Lani was dead set on not having him marry Penny, or even just moving away from the apartment. Lani smiled and slowly and seductively took more steps closer to him, chucking the photo on the floor. Sheldon began to walk backwards until he felt his back hit the wall and his breath hitch in his throat as he watched Lani get extremely close to him.

'I'd like to apply for the job,' she whispered, her body now just grazing his and Sheldon's eyes widened in shock. Dammit! He was going to lose Amy as his co-host on "Fun with Flags" AND he was going to miss out on a mint edition comic book! She laced her fingers with his and Sheldon gulped, not liking the feeling at all. He had to keep reminding himself that this was an experiment, that it wasn't real! If it were anyone else I'm sure they would have jumped at the chance of having two beautiful women fight over him but his heart remained with Penny.

'Er…I…er...I have to go.' Sheldon said, bolting for the door and running straight to Amy. Upon finding her, he dragged her away from the box she was packing and towards the kitchenette before he began to hyperventilate.

'Woah, Sheldon! Calm down! Are you ok?' Amy asked, quickly handing him a paper bag and he began to breathe in and out of it.

'You were right! My worst fear has come true. I'm a chick magnet and have two very beautiful women wanting me!'

'Yeah, every man's worst nightmare,' Amy scoffed, her voice dripping with sarcasm.

'I know right!' Sheldon gasped, 'I knew changing my hair style would have massive repercussions… I'm like the ultimate catnip for all feline creatures. Even for Lions.'

'Lions?'

'They did a study on the catnip, or rather the Nepeta Cataria plant, which showed that there were specific behavioural effects on the cat family, not only on domestic cats but also other species like tigers, leopards and lynxes. They all reacted strongly to catnip in a manner similar to domestic cats, however the lion's reactions weren't as strong. Now do you see how I've used this information as an analogy?'

Amy blinked at her former boyfriend before blinking again, 'Riiiiight, I guess I get the month off then.'

'Amy, this is not the time to be thinking about our wager. What do I do about Lani?!' Sheldon cried, breathing into the paper bag again.

'Well the way I see it is this: you have two choices. Leave Penny. Or drop Lani.'

'You know, it's funny. As much as I care for this woman, there's something about our relationship that leaves me vaguely unsettled.'

'Which woman are you on about?' Amy frowned and Sheldon sighed.

'Lani.' He answered and a smiled crossed her face.

'Good answer. Now, might I venture a theory at which you're sure to hoot?'

'Go for it.'

'Right, what may be making you uncomfortable is that for the first time you've realised that you are actually attractive and that you are trapped in the middle of a love triangle. You've realised that all Lani's behaviourisms have been due to the fact that she likes you. At the moment you are like a scrap of meat between two famished lionesses. Whilst you are sedentary and you just live your life as normal, Penny and Lani were, well more are now, fighting over you. You feel unsettled because you've just realised the severity of it and you and I both know its Penny you love. Lani is extremely good looking, I shall give her that and that makes Penny feel insecure and after Leonard, she's bound to want you near even if you are engaged. I've always had a negative vibe from Lani, I find her body language to be extremely cold and manipulative,' Amy said and she looked Sheldon square in the eye, 'But remember this Sheldon, it may be an unwise man who doesn't learn from his mistakes, but it's an absolute idiot that doesn't learn from other peoples. Leonard never learnt from his mistakes and as a result he lost Penny. Don't be the absolute idiot and lose her as well because trust me Sheldon. She is the best thing to have _ever_ happened to you.'

**Sorry for the long weight guys, I had major writers block and I've been a bit busy, since it was Easter and all haha. So happy easter everyone, I hope you enjoyed the chapter, let me know what you think! xxx**


	36. Chapter 36

After all packing was done, Sheldon bade goodbye to all of his friends until only he and Amy were left in the room. He smiled at his former partner of three years and gave her a hug, holding her close to his body and prolonging the hug, which kind of shocked Amy.

'Thank you for today, I really appreciated it Amy. So, I guess I will see you in two months… well in person I will. I'll call you on Skype or FaceTime and also I want to thank you again for the advice you gave me earlier.'

'It's alright Sheldon, just lending a helping hand. Speaking of which, where is Lani?'

'God knows, but I will be happy to be rid of her upon my arrival to New York. I plan on having Penny entertain me all night tomorrow,' Sheldon laughed suggestively and Amy rolled her eyes and smiled.

'Who knew you'd turn out to have such a sexual appetite! Penny must have her work cut out bedding you and keeping up with your demands.'

'Well you don't realise how desperate I get. Ever since mine and Penny's separation, I've been paying women to touch me!'

'Sheldon!' Amy cried, her jaw dropping.

'Manicurists, pedicurists, facialists… I tell you whenever you see a man who's _that _well groomed; you can bet he's not getting any action!'

Amy shook her head, she should have known better to think Sheldon would have actually gone to a prostitute, 'I'm surprised you let them touch you at all.' She said and Sheldon shrugged.

'As beauticians, they have to follow a specific hygiene routine so I know everything is sterile.'

'Good, right well on that bombshell I'm going to love you and leave you, I shall see you soon Sheldon. Now behave yourself and such good luck,' Amy smiled before kissing his cheek and leaving the apartment. Shutting the door behind her, Sheldon let out a sigh and smiled, tomorrow he would be reunited with Penny and his life would be complete.

Returning to his room, he opened the door to see Lani lying on his bed reading a book. She looked up at him and smiled, her pearly white teeth shining through her red lipstick coated lips, 'Hey gorgeous,' she smiled.

'Lani, you're in my room. You can't be in my room. Please remove yourself immediately,' Sheldon said gesturing to the door. Lani looked at him and without breaking eye contact; she shut the book and sat up.

'Oh come on Sheldon, let me show you what it's like to have a night of real passion with someone who truly does care about you. Look, I really like you and I can see that Penny does have feelings for you but she doesn't treat you like you should be treated. You deserve someone who will look after you and attend to your every need. Not go off gallivanting to all these different places, making you move to New York or sparking arguments with you over the smallest of things.'

Sheldon sighed and looked at her. Walking over to her, he sat down on the bed and she smiled seductively at him, showing him her pearly white teeth which contrasted against her red lips as she smiled. 'Lani… you're beautiful,' he said and he took her hands in his. She looked into his eyes and felt her heart flutter as his blue eyes bore into her brown ones, 'And someday soon, you're going to make a man as happy as Penny makes me and he's going to be very lucky to have a catch like you. While I'm flattered by your attraction to someone like me, I have to tell you that I can't return your affections because my heart belongs to Penny. You deserve someone who will treat you like you deserve to be treated and if you had known the old version of myself, we would most likely not being having this conversation.'

Lani blinked at him and pulled her hands away, 'What?'

'I'm sorry Lani, but that's just the way it has to be. We can be nothing more than friends and former roommates.'

'You're crazy. Giving up someone like me to be with someone like her… it's lunacy.' Lani spat.

'I am not crazy, my mother had me tested. I also have the psychiatric report to prove it. A slender majority of the panel decided in my favour.' Sheldon shrugged and Lani rolled her eyes.

'Whatever, you'll soon realise that you were wrong to turn me down. And when things don't work out with Penny, give me a call.' She said before sauntering out.

* * *

Sheldon had finally finished unpacking the last of his boxes in Penny's apartment and she smiled at him. 'I'm so glad you're here Sheldon, it means a lot to me that you would do this for me. I've missed you so much,' Penny wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him softly.

'No worries, I want to be here with you. I've missed you,' Sheldon said, pressing his lips softly to hers again. Penny looked into his eyes and searched his soul, knowing that she had truly found the real thing with him. She saw nothing but love and adoration for her and it made her insides melt. He was everything to her, he did anything for her and she knew he was the one she was going to spend the rest of her life with. Every girl growing up always dreams of her prince charming and to her, Sheldon was hers. He wasn't your stereotypical prince Charming but nevertheless, every quality found in her version could be found in Sheldon. Her mother had always told her that she had to kiss a few frogs before she found her prince and she had definitely done her fair share of kissing, however knowing that she had finally found her prince reaffirmed her decision on what she was about to say next.

'I don't know what I've done to deserve you Sheldon,' she said softly.

'Neither do I,' he laughed but the serious look remained on her face.

'I want to marry you.'

'And I want to marry you, that is why I proposed,' Sheldon chuckled and she shook her head. Sheldon suddenly realised that Penny was embarking on a serious conversation with him as it was hinted in her tone of voice and she had released him from her clasp.

'No… I want to marry you now,' she whispered and Sheldon raised his eyebrows.

'As in… now?'

'Yes.' She nodded as he frowned in confusion.

'Why?'

'Why?' Penny sighed and sat down as she thought of the right words to say, 'because… you'd do anything and everything for me, regardless of whether or not I agree. You do it because you know it will benefit me, that it'll make me a better person. You've even put up with my insane acting career and all the publicity and fame that has come with it… just to make my dreams come true. Because you've moved 2000 miles away from everything you know, everyone you love... all of it just to make me happy,' she said, her voice cracking and Sheldon slowly sat down beside her, taking in the raw emotion that was radiating from her, 'And because I can't spend one more second without being your wife Sheldon… because I love you.'

Sheldon let out a gasp of happiness, a large smile forming on his face and he took her hands in his, 'But I thought it was your dream to have a big fancy wedding in front of all your friends and all your family in a beautiful white gown. I want to make that happen.'

'You want to make my dreams come true?' she asked, tears welling up in her eyes as she spoke, 'well this is my dream.' Her voice had dropped to a whisper and Sheldon looked at her before kissing her with ardent passion.

'Penny, I would love to marry you. Right here… right now but we need to obtain our marriage license first and we'll have to wait at least 24 hours before we can marry.' Sheldon said and Penny nodded and a smile erupted on her face as she listened to him continue, 'So I suggest that we go and obtain that license now because now I don't think I can spend another second without you being my wife.'

'I love you so much,' Penny cried, throwing her arms around him and peppering his face with kisses.

'And I love you,' Sheldon replied before getting up, taking her hand and walking out the apartment.

**Heya guys, sorry for the long wait again. Thanks so much for your patience, I hope you enjoyed the chapter, so let me know what you think. To my regret, the next chapter is going to be the last :[ :[ :[ I'm may also add a small preview of my next story which will be published sometime this week. So let me know what you think and have a nice day xx**


	37. Chapter 37

Penny and Sheldon sat inside the registry office, waiting for their turn to be called in so they could finally get married. Sheldon wore a smart suit and Penny wore a simple white dress, her hair up in a chignon, a couple of loose tendrils hanging around her face with a white rose placed at the side. They had decided to ask Amy and Mary Cooper if they would be the witnesses to their wedding and gleefully, both had accepted. Amy, however, had immediately decided that she would be buying herself a fancy pale blue bridesmaids dress so she could feel more "weddingy". Whilst Amy quickly popped to the bathroom and Mary went to get a cup of coffee, Sheldon turned to Penny and looked at her intensely. 'Penny, are you sure this is the type of wedding you want? I don't want you to look back and regret not having the perfect wedding,' he said and Penny looked at him, a small smile forming on her lips.

'Sweetie, I don't know if you've noticed but my idea of the perfect wedding keeps changing,' she let out a giggle of laughter, 'One day I want red roses and then I want white ones before I change my mind all over and I go for lilies. First I want a harpist and then I want a string quartet… but out of all these changes, only one thing stays constant and I'm looking at him,' she said in a hushed whisper, 'Why would I need anything else to make my wedding perfect?'

Sheldon smiled and tucked a piece of her hair behind her ear, his finger grazing her soft skin, 'I don't think I've ever seen you look so beautiful,' he said quietly, gazing at her. She felt her breath hitch in her throat, maintaining eye contact with him.

'You clean up pretty well yourself,' she whispered before he leaned in and gave her a romantic kiss. Penny pulled him closer to him and wrapped her arms around his neck, her bouquet of simple white daffodils brushing the back of his neck.

'I love you Penny Miller,' he said to her after breaking their kiss and she sighed and rested her forehead against his.

'I love you too,' she smiled as both Amy and Mary returned. Amy sat next to Penny whilst Mary took a seat beside her son.

'I can't believe you two are doing this… it's so simple yet its elegant and romantic. And thank you for choosing me to be one of your witnesses. I know I bought this exquisite bridesmaids dress but I felt that it was deemed necessary as, in addition to being the sole witness, I would be playing the role of Penny's maid of honour as there is currently no other candidate. Therefore, it was customary for me to have a lavish gown.' Amy said and Penny laughed and hugged her friend.

'Oh Amy,' Penny said whilst Mary took her sons hand in her own and squeezed it as if to say she was proud of her son. Sheldon smiled and squeezed back.

'Sheldon Cooper and Penny Miller.' A voice called out and Penny felt her heart race. This was it; she was finally going to be Mrs Cooper and she couldn't wait to embark on a new life with Sheldon. Making their way into the room they walked up to the registrar, their hands intertwined and smiles on their faces. The registrar smiled at them and the ceremony began.

'Today, Sheldon and Penny have decided to commit to one another by the sanctity of marriage. If anyone here should know of any lawful impediment on why they should not be joined, let them speak now or forever hold their peace,' the registrar paused before continuing, 'Sheldon will you take this woman to your lawfully wedded wife. Will you love her, comfort her, honour her, and keep her in sickness and in health; and, forsaking all others, remain faithful to her so long as you both shall live?'

'I will,' Sheldon said, never taking his eyes off Penny.

'Penny, will you take this man to your lawfully wedded husband. Will you love him, comfort him, honour him, and keep him in sickness and in health; and, forsaking all others, remain faithful to him so long as you both shall live?'

'I will.'

'With this ring I thee wed,' the registrar said softly. Sheldon picked up the ring slipped it onto Penny's finger after repeating the registrar's words. Penny followed suit and realised that Sheldon was now her husband and she his wife, 'I understand that you have written your own vows?'

'Yes,' Penny smiled and she looked at Sheldon. He took her hands in his and looked deep into her eyes, his heart racing as she began to speak, 'Sheldon, it wasn't long ago that we fell in love and it was so unexpected that I had thought it would never happen but I am so glad that it did. I've been dreaming having a man like you since I was a little girl. You came into my life, and made all my dreams come true. I love you more than words can possibly say, and vow to cherish every moment we share for the rest of our lives. You are my lover, my best friend. You are everything I have ever wanted in a partner, and I feel so lucky to be standing here with you today. I love absolutely everything about you. The way you laugh, your idiosyncrasies, your genius mind, how kind you are to me, the way your eyes sparkle when we're together...the way you make me feel like the most beautiful woman in the world. You are the most important person in the world to me, and I promise to love you forever.

'Today, I take you to be my husband. This will be a day that we will remember for the rest of our lives. I vow to love you and cherish you. To treat you with respect and cherish every moment we spend together. I promise to take care of you in good times, and in bad… to support you and guide you and to be the best wife that I can be. I vow to share my life's achievements and success, as well as the disappointments and hardship and I vow all of these things from this day forward.' Penny said, her voice having cracked throughout her speech and a couple of tears of happiness rolling down her cheeks. Sheldon smiled at her and leaned in, 'You can't kiss me yet,' she giggled as she felt him kiss her cheek.

'I know,' he said, looking lovingly at her. The registrar nodded for Sheldon to now make his vows and Sheldon looked at his Penny, his beautiful Penny and he took a step closer to her, 'Penny..I never knew that I could feel this way about another person. You came into my life and showed me how to love, and taught me what it takes to be a man and I cannot wait to spend the rest of my life with you. To laugh with you, take care of you, and be someone that you can depend on. From the first time we met, I knew you were someone special. The time we've spent together, has been the best time of my life, and I'm excited to see what the future hold for us.

'You are the woman I want to have a family with, grow old with, and spend the rest of my life loving. I can't believe I'm looking into the eyes of my wife. You are the most beautiful woman in the world. More than that, you're smart, you always know how to make me laugh, and you are everything I ever wanted in a woman. Thank you for loving me, and I promise that I will love you for the rest of our lives, just as much as I love you right now. Today, I vow to love you: tomorrow and forever. I promise to laugh with you in the good times, and cry with you during the bad times. I will help you up when you fall down, and be there to cheer you on when you're at your best. No matter what happens, I will love you and always be there for you_. _I will always be there when you need me, and will be the best husband I can be. I vow to make this day, and each day after, one that you will cherish. Penny… I love you.'

The registrar wiped a tear out of the corner of her eye and smiled. 'Sheldon and Penny have consented to their marriage and have declared their love by the giving and receiving of rings. So by the power vested in me by the state of New York, I hereby declare that Sheldon and Penny are now husband and wife. You may kiss the bride.'

Penny grinned and threw herself at Sheldon, capturing his lips in a kiss. They were finally married and both were elated. Mary clapped her hands vigorously and Amy, who couldn't contain her tears of joy, threw confetti over the pair before running and hugging her bestie. Penny knew it wouldn't be long until they're secret marriage was out in the open so she wanted to enjoy it as much as she could. All four of them went out for a celebratory meal before Amy and Mary returned to their hotel and Sheldon and Penny to their apartment.

Sheldon opened the door and picked Penny up bridal style before he shook his head, 'I cannot believe you are making me do this stereotypical film sort of act,' he said shaking his head and Penny laughed and kissed his cheek.

'I think what you mean to say is Penny, oh wonderful gorgeous Penny, thank you for marrying me and for allowing me to carry you're beautiful behind into our apartment.'

'I think you had one too many cosmos at dinner,' Sheldon looked at her and Penny laughed and shook her head.

'No, I'm just… I've never been so happy in my life… I feel like I could float,' she said dreamily and Sheldon fell back onto the sofa, taking Penny with him.

'I wish you could too,' he groaned and Penny slapped his chest playfully.

'Hey, I'm not that heavy you know,' she giggled and he kissed her nose.

'Shhh,' he whispered and she smiled.

'Now it is my wedding night and I want you to make love to me for the first time as my husband,' Penny said, getting up, 'but first…I think I might have a shower.'

'Ok, I'll join you,' Sheldon smiled, his eyes twinkling. Penny smiled and took his hand and together they went to the bathroom. Penny turned on the water and let it run over her naked body as she stepped into the shower. She was soon followed by Sheldon and she lathered a little soap on his chest, feeling his smooth skin under the heat of the water. He looked down at her and softly captured her lips in a short sweet kiss. She smiled at him and drew him into a hug and just stood with him under the warm running water. As she hugged him, she thought of everything they had been through together, all the fights, their brief separation, the first time they made love, her song he wrote… all the good times and a smile formed on her lips. She was finally with the man she loved. Whilst she thought of her past with Sheldon, he envisioned their future together. He could picture their house in the suburbs, it was large and fancy with a white picket fence that surrounded a large front garden. They would have two children together and they would be smart, beautiful and sassy. Their son would be called Oliver and their daughter would be called Lily and they'd have a silver and white tabby cat called Zazzles. Sheldon held his wife closer to him and nuzzled his face into the crook of her neck and smiled. Life couldn't get any better than this.

**Well that's it folks! I want to thank you for all your reviews and for giving up 5 minutes to read each chapter. And a special thank you to my lovely reviewers J, Nertooold54, Johnsel, ses1515, Aussie SciFi Tragic, jslee102, ontheledge and dinkyboo. You guys have reviewed nearly every chapter and it's really given me the motivation to write my most popular story, so thank you. I'm so sad that the story has come to an end but I think this was the perfect time to end the story. Let me know what you think for the last time and shoot me a review for the final chapter. I will be uploading my new story soon, so here is a short preview for you xxx**

'_Oh please… you practically love that cat more than a human being. I mean you'd probably date it if you could though she's probably repulsed by your breath which, by the way, is utterly putrid today.' Penny snapped before smacking her hands over her mouth in shock. _

'_You have some pretty strong opinions about me Penny.'_

'_Mr Burkett, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean any of it!'_

'_If you dislike me so much and you can't stand your job, I'm not sure if it's a good idea if you continue working for me.' _

_Penny gasped and shook her head. No, she couldn't lose her job! It was so difficult to get a job nowadays and she was lucky to even have escaped her waitressing job. Oh and then Sheldon would have a field trip ripping into her about her carelessness over her job. 'Please you can't do this… I need this job!'_

'_Watch me.' Burkett smirked, 'You're fired.' _

'_No, you can't fire me!'_

'_You're fired.' He repeated._

'_You can't… I'm…' Penny racked her brain trying to remember anything she could about that time when she dated that law student at college. Then it clicked…. 'I'm pregnant!' _

'_Pregnant?' Burkett asked, his brow furrowing. _

'_Yes, I'm totally pregnant… you know like Mary when she gave birth to Jesus or when y'know Kate Middleton gave birth to Prince George.' Penny lied, her heart racing, 'The doctor told me that pregnancy can totally mess up my hormones and stuff cause it releases all these weird chemicals into my body and that's what's messing me up and making all this totally untrue stuff coming out my mouth!'_

'_Pregnant? I wasn't aware you even had a boyfriend.' _

'_Oh yeah, I totally do. We've been going out for three years now.' Penny said. What was she getting herself into for Pete's sake! She didn't have a boyfriend at all!_

'_Really? What's the father's name?'_

'_Sheldon Cooper.'_

_**The Labour Pain Misdirection **_**will be airing on Fanfiction on Friday, so hopefully I will hear from some of you on that story too! Once again, thanks for taking the time to read this story and I really hope you enjoyed it because I definitely enjoyed writing it xx**


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